Utah Judge Rejects Class-Action Suit Over Alleged Bogus DUI Stops

A Utah judge has rejected a potential class-action lawsuit seeking millions in damages for hundreds people arrested for drunken driving by disgraced former state trooper Lisa Steed.

In a decision made public last week, Judge Michael Allphin ruled that the stops were all different, so they have to be considered individually.

Lawyers for three people arrested by Steed said a class-action suit was the only practical way to help hundreds of people wrongly arrested.

Steed was a rising star in the department who made hundreds of stops a year before a pattern of questionable practices surfaced and she was fired in 2012.

State lawyers say that Steed stands by her arrests and is ready to defend them.

Plaintiff attorney Robert Sykes said he’s disappointed in the ruling and plans to appeal.