When Jennifer Fitzgerald began to date Brandon Preveau, she had no idea how much that one decision would end up costing her. While they were dating, Brandon bought a 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo from his uncle, using his income tax refund to pay $600 for the car. Although he was the car’s “principal driver,” he signed the title of the car over to Jennifer. When the couple broke up, Brandon parked the car in the United Airlines lot at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. It wasn’t long before the parking tickets began to pile up, and the car was marked as “hazardous” and “dilapidated” after being left on the lot for over 30 days. Jennifer was hit with a fine of more than $105,000, landing on the Department of Revenue’s “Top 100 Scofflaw List” and was told if she didn’t pay the fine, she could lose her driver’s license. Jennifer hired an attorney, who contended that she should not be liable for the tickets because she was never the owner of the automobile and had no control over where it was parked. In the end, the City of Chicago agreed to drop $100,000 in ticket fines, leaving Jennifer with a final bill of $4,470. Jennifer turned around and sued Brandon, winning the case and leaving him with a down payment of $1,600 and $78 a month until the fine is paid off. Needless to say, Jennifer is taking a break from dating.
