A federal appeals court panel has reinstated a lawsuit brought by Metra workers who say their constitutional rights were violated when their cars were searched as they were leaving a parking lot at the commuter rail agency’s 47th Street yards in Chicago.
The lawsuit was tossed out last year by a U.S. District Court judge, who said the employees essentially had consented to the searches.
But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit disagreed.
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In a ruling Wednesday, the appeals court panel said Metra had failed to offer any reason for the unannounced searches, which were conducted by Metra police on Sept. 4, 1990, as employees were leaving for the day.
Without a reason for the searches, the appeals court said, it is unclear whether employees could be said to have given valid consents.
The appeals court noted that although they cooperated when Metra police asked to search their cars, the employees said they believed they had no choice.
Lawyers for Metra had argued that signs warning of possible searches were posted at the entrances to the parking lot, at 47th Street and Wentworth Avenue, and that employees were not required to use the lot.
But the appeals court said that wasn’t enough to assume consent. The panel noted that employees said the area around the 47th Street facility was so unsafe they felt compelled to use the lot.
“Moreover, the plaintiffs attested that they did not think that they were consenting to be searched at any time for any purpose,” wrote Judge Richard D. Cudahy, author of the opinion.
The ruling does not mean that the employees will collect the damages they seek. But it does give them another opportunity to convince a trial judge that Metra violated their 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The class-action lawsuit was filed in 1990 by lawyer William O’Donaghue on behalf of about 135 workers who were then employed at the 47th Street yards. The searches apparently were in response to thefts at the facility.