Court: Keep tickets in glove compartment

GREENSBORO, N.C., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A judge in North Carolina has ruled the city of Greensboro has only one year to sue scofflaws who have not paid their parking tickets.

If the city loses its appeal, that would mean no city in the state could go after unpaid fines or tickets later than one year after payment is due, the Greensboro News & Record reported Sunday.

State District Court Judge Margaret Sharpe ruled against the city’s argument that a ticket is an “implied contract,” the newspaper said, in favor of lawyer Kevin Morse who owed $2,300 in unpaid tickets more than a year old.

The decision by the Guilford County judge could cost cities millions -- Greensboro is owed $2 million in parking tickets alone -- and make it less than worthwhile for cities to sue at all since most ne’er-do-wells do not accrue large amounts of tickets or fines in a year, the newspaper said.