Summary: A missing comma allowed an Ohio woman to get her parking citation as well as legal and towing fees thrown out.
Andrea Cammelleri woke up one morning to find her 1993 Ford pickup truck was gone. She later found out that her truck had been towed for breaking the city of West Jefferson’s ordinance prohibiting vehicles from being parked on the street for more than 24 hours.
Her boyfriend was the one to notice the grammar problem on the ticket. A comma was missing between the word “motor vehicle” and “camper” so in a sense, she was written up for leaving her “motor vehicle camper” parked on the road for too long.
Cammelleri argued that her truck did not fit in the category of things prohibited to park on the street. The ticket listed “motor vehicle camper, trailer, farm implement and/or non-motorized vehicle.” An Ohio appeals judge agreed with her and tossed her parking ticket for missing the crucial comma.
The city argued that the ordinance still applied. The judge told the city to fix the law to cover regular cars, otherwise add a comma to the wording for future citations. The city must reimburse Cammelleri for the towing and legal fees, which will be around $1,500.
Cammelleri was told by everyone not to fight City Hall, because she wouldn’t win, so winning the case was a pleasant surprise.
Photo: nydailynews.com
