Legal Brief: Cincinnati Alarm Registration Fees Deemed Unconstitutional

May 11, 2023
Security Business Magazine

Types : Bylined Articles

Analysis of White, et al. v. City of Cincinnati, et al reveals potential nationwide ramifications

For most people in America, tax season is over. The annual ritual of filing tax returns and hoping for a refund is a recurring reality of life. Some of you had to pay more money; some of you received money back. All of you would prefer never to pay taxes again. In the words of the famous Peanuts cartoon character, Snoopy: “Dear IRS, I am writing to cancel my subscription. Please remove my name from your mailing list.”

Snoopy’s plan is folly, but, sometimes, taxpayers get their revenge. So it was in the fascinating class action lawsuit entitled, White, et al. v. City of Cincinnati, et al.

Plaintiffs Andrew White, Vena Jones-Cox, Cincinnati Property Management Ltd., Tashaz LLC, and Proffitt Real Estate Services Inc., filed a complaint in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas against the City of Cincinnati and Sonya Walker (the Alarm Administrator for Cincinnati), challenging the constitutionality of the city’s ordinances regulating alarm systems.