Plaintiffs oppose Marco Island's motion to dismiss ALPRs lawsuit
About one month after the city of Marco Island sought to dismiss a civil complaint over its use of automated license plate readers, the plaintiffs reiterated their resolve to have the camera data removed.
Court records indicate that on May 8 plaintiffs Shannon Schemel, Stephen Overman and Michael Tschida opposed the city's April 4 motion to dismiss the case.
Schemel, Overman and Tschida ask that the court deny the motion, alleging the city is mischaracterizing the privacy interest brought by the plaintiffs, emphasizing their concern lies with authorities keeping the records related to the license plate readers for three years.
They further allege the data discloses the plaintiffs' daily movements.
The records indicate that on Feb. 14, U.S. District Judge John Badalamenti agreed with an appeal filed alleging the accusations against the city mirrored those filed against police. Badalamenti had ordered the dismissal of the claims against the police department.
Related: Marco Island license plate readers: Case dismissed against police, city seeks dismissal
Badalamenti at the time dismissed the case without prejudice, giving the plaintiffs another attempt.
Then, on April 4, the city filed a follow-up motion to dismiss the first amended complaint claiming the defendants haven't stated a claim for a Fourth Amendment or Florida Constitution violation. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against "unreasonable search and seizure."
The city installed in April 2021 at least three new automated license plate readers — two of them on Jolley Bridge and the third on San Marco Road.
The city has alleged the plaintiffs don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy of their license plate numbers; and that the city's collection and retention of the data doesn't constitute a search.
City officials seek to dismiss the first amended complaint with prejudice, hoping to dismiss the case.
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Attorney Richard Samp with the New Civil Liberties Alliance law firm of Washington D.C., told the Daily News in April that if the judge grants the motion to dismiss, he will appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
In the original complaint, filed Feb. 7, 2022, Schemel, Overman and Tschida said the city is engaging in unreasonable searches and seizures.
The city paid more than $60,000 to Vetted Security Solutions for the systems, records show.
The camera systems are capable of taking pictures of vehicles' license plates and sharing them with law enforcement agencies, storing the information for up to three years.
Schemel said the suit isn't about getting rid of the cameras, but about getting rid of a database with three years of their personal information being in the hands of the city and other organizations.
Other cities in Southwest Florida using ALPRs include Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Naples.
The law firm is also suing the city of Coral Gables representing plaintiff Raul Mas Canosa over its use of license plate readers. Samp said that case currently stands in Florida's Third District Court of Appeals.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Residents oppose Marco Island's motion to dismiss lawsuit
