RCL asks Supreme Court to review transit contract dispute

A two year legal battle between Rochester City Lines and the city government isn’t over yet.

Last month, the Minnesota Appeals Court rejected all challenges submitted by RCL in its attempts to regain the contract to provide public transit service in the city. It lost that contract in 2012 when for the first time ever, the city sought bids and signed an agreement with First Transit. That led to a number of legal challenges by RCL, all of which were denied by the local district court.

RCL then took its case to the Appeals Court, which last month upheld all the district court rulings. Yesterday was the deadline for RCL to keep the case alive - and the company did so by filing a petition with the state Supreme Court to review the appellate decision.

City Attorney Terry Adkins says the city’s legal expenses in the case are closing in on $1 million. Although insurance will cover a large part of the bill, the city is still facing costs of more than $400,000.