Lawsuit that might have lowered ST3 car-tab fees is thrown out by Pierce County judge

A lawsuit that might have lowered car-tab fees for Puget Sound drivers was dismissed Friday by a Pierce County judge.

The group of residents who brought the lawsuit in June argued that Sound Transit uses an outdated and unconstitutional way to calculate those fees to help fund its $54 billion Sound Transit 3 construction package.

Superior Court Judge Kathryn Nelson disagreed, dismissing the lawsuit and finding the car-tab law constitutional — which is what the regional transit agency asked her to do.

Nelson also indicated that she expected the issue to be reviewed by higher courts, saying that some aspects of the case were “beyond my pay grade.”

Joel Ard, one of the attorneys for the residents, said after court that he hadn’t decided whether to appeal Nelson’s decision.

“We are reviewing our options and will confer with our clients before deciding on our next steps,” he said via email.

Voters approved ST3 in 2016 to expand light rail in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties and to improve bus service and commuter-rail lines. Most votes in Pierce County were against it.

ST3’s passage increased car-tab fees to help pay for the projects, which are also funded by increased sales and property taxes.

Sound Transit spokesman Geoff Patrick said Nelson’s decision was “good news for the commuters of the region, because it means that Sound Transit can continue forward with” projects that are “going to be critical as our population keeps growing and our congestion keeps rising.”

Patrick said the lawsuit threatened the time line for the agency’s plans, which in Pierce County include longer and more frequent Sounder Trains, extending the regional light rail to Tacoma and extending the Tacoma Link light rail to Tacoma Community College.

The lawsuit argued Sound Transit shouldn’t be allowed to collect the increased fees and should return what it’s already collected. That’s about $400 million.

Sound Transit has been calculating the car-tab fees with a 1996 method for estimating vehicle value, which inflates the value of newer cars, instead of a newer method lawmakers put in place in 2006.

Lawmakers have said that they didn’t realize South Transit was going to use the old way, and some car owners have been surprised that the ST3 portion of the bill to renew their car tabs has been in the hundreds of dollars.

Sound Transit argued that legislators understood how the new law would work when they agreed it could go before voters.

Senator Steve O’Ban, R-University Place, told reporters outside court that he was disappointed in the judge’s decision and that lawmakers had not realized the old method would be used, resulting in the car-tab fee “spike.”

O’Ban said the Legislature could take up the issue next year.

“We have the power in January to right this wrong,” he said.