Suffolk County requests mediation in $90 million illegal red-light camera fee case

In a step toward reaching a settlement, Suffolk County has asked a judge to mediate negotiations with attorneys representing drivers who paid more than $90 million in illegal fees attached to red-light camera tickets over the course of a decade.

Meanwhile, Nassau County is continuing to fight a similar case in court, arguing the payments were voluntary.

Lawyers for Suffolk wrote to County Judge David T. Reilly Tuesday requesting him "to conduct a mediation session between the parties ... [to] facilitate a resolution of the matter or help to narrow the differences in the respective parties’ settlement positions."

The move comes after an appeals court ruled in November that any extra fees above a $50 base fine — including $30 "administration fees" that Suffolk used to charge and $100 fees that Nassau used to charge — violated state law. Suffolk County collected $91 million in fees from 2013 through 2022, which is subject to a 9% annual statutory interest rate as the case drags on, Newsday previously reported.

David Raimondo, an attorney for the drivers, said that after fighting in court since 2016, he’s hopeful.

"I’m very appreciative of the county agreeing to mediate this case, rather than just litigate it for another 10 years," he said.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine did not return a request for comment Thursday.

It remains unclear exactly how or when Suffolk ticket holders can receive restitution, which could be decided as part of the settlement. But in class action cases like this, the courts typically assign a third party administrator to make reimbursements through check or direct deposit, after legal fees are deducted, Raimondo previously told Newsday.

Suffolk charged a $30 administration fee for each red-light camera violation until 2022 when a county court ruled it violated a state law setting the maximum fine at $50, or $75 with a late fee. An appellate division court affirmed that decision in November, then sent the case back down to the county court to handle restitution.

Suffolk County completely ended its red-light camera program in December after state and county legislators failed to renew it.

Nassau County had charged $100 in extra fees but stopped doing so after the appellate division’s ruling last year. Its red light program — with the $50 base fine — is ongoing.

Nassau has not disclosed the total amount it collected to the plaintiffs, Raimondo said. Similarly, Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips’ office has not responded to public records requests from Newsday about the amount, first submitted over three months ago.

Nassau County has not indicated a similar willingness to negotiate, according to Raimondo, who's also representing drivers in that case. A Nassau County spokesman did not respond to Newsday’s request for comment Thursday. Nassau’s lawyers have invoked something called the "voluntary payments doctrine," arguing the county does not need to repay drivers who paid the extra fees "voluntarily."

In a court filing, Nassau County wrote that the driver at the center of the case, Mark Guthart, did not pay the fines under "duress or coercion" in part because he did not initially contest the fee in traffic court.

"The "voluntary payment doctrine" requires dismissal of all of Plaintiff’s claims for monetary relief," they wrote.

But Raimondo said the doctrine — which Suffolk also raised in the past — is inappropriate, because drivers face consequences, including license suspensions and judgments, if they don't pay.

"There is nothing voluntary about that payment," he said.

Unlike the Suffolk case, which is already a class action case, Nassau County Judge Thomas Rademaker has not yet ruled on a request for class certification in Guthart’s case.

While critics have argued that red light camera programs are a "cash grab," experts have told Newsday that if implemented correctly, the cameras can play an important safety role.

Suffolk’s intersections with the cameras experienced an 11.3% reduction in accidents involving injuries in the years after installation, according to county data released in 2020, although overall accidents actually increased — due to an increase in rear-rend crashes, Newsday previously reported.