LI county agrees to pay back drivers up to nearly $60M over $30 administration fee on red-light tickets
Suffolk County must shell out up to nearly $60 million to settle a lawsuit over the $30 “administration fee’’ it slapped on its now-defunct red-light-camera tickets, according to a new settlement. The long-awaited Long Island pact, reached this week, will reimburse drivers up to $57.5 million — or as much as $36 per ticket they received between 2013 and 2023 — for the illegal fees that the administration of former County Executive Steve Bellone tacked on to each ticket.“We are pleased to have reached a resolution that is fair to the members of the class while also protecting the interests of Suffolk County taxpayers,” said Christopher Clayton, the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the class-action suit.“This litigation began during the prior administration and has been both lengthy and complex — this settlement brings this matter to a responsible conclusion and allows the County to move forward,” he said. For the 10-year period between 2013 and 2023, Suffolk County collected a $50 fine from drivers who ran a red light — but then tacked on another $30 with the “administrative fee,” which was found to be illegal by a state appellate court in 2024. The class-action lawsuit, first filed in 2016, sought to recover the millions of dollars that Suffolk and Nassau counties both pocketed through the added surcharge.Under the newly approved settlement, Suffolk County agreed to repay drivers up to $36 for each ticket — $30 for the administrative fee and $6 in interest — but that amount could be less depending on how many drivers apply for reimbursements. The pot stays at $57.5 million regardless, and it’s unclear how many people will seek reimbursements.Neighboring Nassau County, which tacked on an exorbitant $100 in illegal fees per ticket until 2024, is still fighting its own case in court in an effort to avoid having to pay back $400 million.As part of the newly reached agreement, Suffolk will pay up to $45 million in total to ticketed driver...