Woman to clear $105,000 parking fines with $4,500

An unemployed single mother that owed the city of Chicago US$105,000 in parking fines has reached a settlement involving the city and her ex-boyfriend. Officials claimed Jennifer Fitzgerald owed US$105,761.80 ($116,992) for 678 parking violations issued to a 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo registered in her name - by far the biggest parking fine in city history - but have reached a settlement with her and ex-boyfriend Brandon Preveau.

Mr Preveau allegedly parked the car in the airport after the end of the relationship with the Ms Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald fought the fines by arguing her ex-boyfriend registered the old car in her name and parked it at O'Hare Airport without her knowing. All 678 tickets were issued and placed on the car without it ever being towed away, according to the Chicago Tribune. The fines have prevented Ms Fitzgerald from renewing her driver’s license.

The ruling requires Preveau to pay a down payment of $1,600 and for Fitzgerald to pay $78 a month for the next three years until the balance is settled. Fitzgerald maintained while suing the city for relief of the fees that Preveau bought the Chevy from her uncle and registered it in her name before parking it in the employee lot at O'Hare without her knowing, according to the Tribune. Preveau works at the airport, the paper noted.

Preveau, a United Airlines employee, abandoned the vehicle at an airport parking lot around November 17, 2009, according to a complaint first reported by The Expired Meter. It is O'Hare parking policy to remove a car after 30 days to an impound lot. Yet it took until October 26 this year to impound the dark grey Monte Carlo, according to Department of Aviation spokesman Karen Pride.

During the nearly three-year ordeal, Ms Fitzgerald was unable to remove her name from the registration and was forced into court to address the growing fines. Finally, with the help of an attorney, she has filed a counter lawsuit asking the court to find she was not the owner of the car and therefore not liable for the parking tickets. Though not all the tickets were dismissed, Fitzgerald was at least able to reduce the fines to a more reasonable level.