AMHERST — A $60 parking ticket issued to a former University of Massachusetts professor in October is prompting him to sue his former employer, contending that the enforcement action was improper, as well as an indication of how UMass is indiscriminate in handing out citations.
“I am filing this lawsuit for two reasons: to defend my constitutional right to fair due process, and to expose a system that prioritizes revenue over fairness,” Rui Wang said on Wednesday.
Wang, of Valley Lane in Amherst, filed the lawsuit on his own behalf in Hampshire Superior Court in December, seeking a judicial review, after the Parking Hearing Review Board on Nov. 25 upheld the ticket issued Oct. 3 around 5:30 p.m.
The lawsuit contends that “the citation was issued without the legally required signage, and the review board denied plaintiff’s appeal based solely on plaintiff’s prior citation history rather than addressing the merits of the appeal.”
Wang said he and his partner, who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time, were baffled about getting the ticket when there were no signs posted indicating any special event would be taking place. The citation was one of 69 he learned was handed out that evening to vehicles parked in Lots 14 and 22, parking areas close to the McGuirk Alumni Stadium, where the UMass football team was to play a game against Western Michigan the next day.
Like most parking lots on campus, Lot 14 is free to park in after 5 p.m., unless a specific restriction is in effect and posted with signs. This was not the case, according to the lawsuit: “At the time the plaintiff parked, there were no visible signs, barricades, cones or notices indicating that the lot was closed for an event or that parking was restricted.”
UMass has defended its response in the decision its review board made, stating to Wang that it relies on what it calls a “verbal assignment” system without written verification.
But the lawsuit states that “such a high volume of violations is inconsistent with the presence of clear, visible signage and instead indicates a systemic failure of notice. A reasonable mind cannot accept this record as sufficient to support the conclusion that the lot was properly posted.”
A UMass spokeswoman on Wednesday declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Wang said he feels he was entitled to a refund on the ticket because UMass made the mistake of not properly posting the lot for the following day’s football game.
What he hopes the lawsuit can expose is what he sees as a strategy to improperly inflate parking revenue.
“Most students don’t have the time or resources to fight this injustice,” Wang said. “They are terrified of having their class registration blocked, so they pay unfair tickets just to survive.”
Wang acknowledges that he has received four citations over the past four years, and seven in the 20 years he’s been associated with UMass, and paid each of them on time, as he could do again. He also understands that not doing so could compromise his ability to renew his driver’s license and vehicle registration.
“I decided this was a fight worth picking because it is about exposing a scandalous tactic UMass parking uses to inflate revenue, ticketing drivers for phantom restrictions, admitting they have no proof the signs were posted, and then counting on people being too busy or too scared to fight back,” Wang said.