Following a courthouse hearing this morning, State District Judge Levi Benton, late today, dismissed a lawsuit that sought to prevent construction of the University light rail line on a section of Richmond Avenue.
 
The lawsuit, brought by Ms. Daphne Scarbrough in May, 2007, originally claimed numerous arguments as to why METRO was, allegedly, not in compliance with the voter-approved 2003 referendum.  In June, 2008, Ms. Scarbrough dropped all but one of the claims from the suit.  The remaining claim was that METRO would violate the Referendum by building a portion of the University Line on Richmond Ave.  
 
METRO’s motion to dismiss was soundly based on the fact that Ms. Scarbrough has no standing to sue because construction of the line has not even started and, therefore, the project could in no way have damaged her. 
 
District Court Judge Levi Benton (215th) signed an order this afternoon granting METRO its plea.  “The Court orders that Scarbrough takes nothing because she has no standing to pursue the claims asserted,” the Judge wrote.
 
Reacting to news of the Judge’s order, METRO President and CEO Frank Wilson said:  “The real winners are this region’s commuters who will benefit sooner rather than later from improved mobility,” Wilson said.  “It should be blindingly obvious with gasoline prices and traffic congestion that tactics like specious lawsuits do nothing to solve today’s urgent need for better mobility,” Wilson said.  
 
METRO is working to complete an environmental review on the University Line and expects to begin construction in mid-2009 and to begin operation in 2012.  The University Line is one of five new light rail lines that METRO is building under the METRO Solutions transit expansion program.  The East End line was put under construction in June, 2008, while construction on the North and Southeast lines is scheduled to begin in early fall, followed by the Uptown Line early next year.
 

###