United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit August Term, 2022

(Argued: June 27, 2023 Decided: January 26, 2024)

Docket No. 22-751-cv

_____________________________________

KORISZAN REESE, BRIAN OWENS, MIRIAN ROJAS,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

JASON FARINA, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, CHARLES GARDNER, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, DOROTHY TROIANO, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, DELORIS RITCHIE,

Plaintiffs,

v.

TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE AND TUNNEL AUTHORITY, dba MTA BRIDGES AND TUNNELS,

Defendant-Appellee,

METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY; TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS, INC.; CONDUENT STATE & LOCAL SOLUTIONS, INC.; LINEBARGER GOGGAN BLAIR & SAMPSON, LLP; ALLIANCEONE RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT INC.; NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY AUTHORITY; THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY,

Defendants. *

_____________________________________ Before:

LYNCH and LOHIER, Circuit Judges. †

After the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) removed toll booths from its crossings and implemented a “Cashless Tolling” program, the Plaintiffs in this appeal incurred substantial fines when they repeatedly failed to pay tolls at TBTA crossings. TBTA accepted a reduced amount to resolve the Plaintiffs’ violations. The Plaintiffs then filed this lawsuit, alleging that the fines were unconstitutional under the Eight Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause and that TBTA was unjustly enriched under New York law. On summary judgment, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Castel, J.) applied the factors set forth in United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321 (1998), and determined that the fines were neither unconstitutionally excessive nor inequitable under state law. On appeal, the Plaintiffs challenge the District Court’s application of three of the four Bajakajian factors: the essence of the violation, the relationship between the fine paid and the maximum possible fine, and the nature of the harm to TBTA. We find no error in the District Court’s application of these factors. We also agree with the District Court’s decision to grant summary judgment to TBTA on the Plaintiffs’ unjust enrichment claim under state law. We therefore AFFIRM.

PAUL V. SWEENY (Stephen J. Fearon, Jr., on the brief), Squitieri & Fearon, LLP, New York, NY for Plaintiffs- Appellants. * The Clerk of Court is directed to amend the official caption to conform with the above. † Judge Joseph F. Bianco, originally a member of the panel, recused himself from this case. This appeal is being decided by the two remaining members of the panel, who are in agreement. See 2d Cir. IOP E(b). 2 ESTEBAN MORALES (Joshua Briones, Todd Rosenbaum, on the brief), Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY for Defendant-Appellee. LOHIER, Circuit Judge:

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) is a public authority in New York that, under the name MTA Bridges and Tunnels, operates several river crossings within New York City. Beginning in 2016 TBTA actively replaced the tollbooths in each of its facilities with gantries and cameras. Under TBTA’s “Cashless Tolling” program, drivers are able to continue through the gantries at speed without stopp