The Court: Frankston Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Hayden Brodie
The Charges:
The Allegations:
Our client was facing an accumulation of unpaid toll fines. The unpaid tolls related to a two-year period, during which our client believed she was maintaining a credit balance in her e-tag account. However, she was unaware that a family member was using another vehicle also registered in her name and was accumulating the infringements in that vehicle. Once she became aware of this, our client applied to have the fines revoked; however, this request was refused.
The total outstanding debt reached $33,000, including penalties and fees. The client was arrested by the Sheriff and bailed to appear before the Frankston Magistrates Court.
At Court:
Our solicitor appeared with the client at court and made extensive submissions to the Magistrate regarding the circumstances in which the toll fines were accumulated. Supporting documentation was also tendered to the court in support of the client. Our solicitor further submitted that ‘special circumstances’ existed under section 165 (2)(b) of the Fines Reform Act 2014 (Vic), given the client was not aware a family member was using another vehicle registered in her name and accruing toll fines.
The Outcome:
The Magistrate agreed that, in this particular case, ‘special circumstances’ existed, as the client did not intentionally try to avoid paying the fines but was somewhat unaware of them and their accrual. Our client was effectively discharged of her obligation to pay the full debt amount of $33,000. The Magistrate discharged the debt in full. This was an excellent result for the client.
