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A lawsuit pending in state District Court could force the city to shut down its red-light camera program and pay back millions of dollars in fines imposed by the cameras.

An Albuquerque judge last week gave the OK for a lawsuit, originally brought on behalf of five people fined under the program, to proceed as a class action. If the lawsuit succeeds, that means everyone fined under the program could get their money back.

"Everyone who has been fined is represented here," said Rick Sandoval, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case.

Sandoval said District Judge Valerie Huling's decision to certify the case as a class action was a significant step forward for a lawsuit that could end one of the more controversial initiatives in recent city history.

The lawsuit argues that the camera program conflicts with established state traffic law and sets up an illegitimate, quasi-legal hearing process for people who challenge their tickets.

"They've essentially set up a parallel court that has no legal standing," Sandoval said.

But similar arguments have already failed to convince one District Court judge. In January, District Judge Geraldine Rivera ruled that the camera program is allowed under the state's home rule provisions.

Rivera also ruled that the administrative hearing process was fair, rejecting a woman's claim the system violates the New Mexico Constitution.

In February, Huling - who is presiding over the class action case - denied a motion for a temporary restraining order halting the program.

City Attorney Bob White said he was confident the court would again uphold the camera program.

"We'll defend it the same way we have the other cases where the courts ruled we have the jurisdiction to do this program," he said.

Unlike typical traffic citations, tickets written under the camera program fall under a city nuisance ordinance and are civil in nature.

The fines are also higher, leading many critics to deride the program as a cash-cow.

The city says the fines are used to maintain the program, which officials credit with cutting down on accidents at major intersections. The cameras are leased from a private company.

As of March, the city had collected more than $6 million in fines since the program began in May 2005.

White said the city didn't oppose the motion to certify the latest lawsuit as a class action because it wanted to "bring all the issues into one forum."

Sandoval predicted the case would eventually find its way to the state Supreme Court.