New York City will pay nearly $143 million to more than 40,000 people who were held for hours at Rikers Island and other city jails after they were supposed to be released on bail, a judge ruled this week.
The payout stems from a 2017 class-action lawsuit that alleged detainees were being held as long as a day after they were supposed to be released. In a settlement last year, the city agreed to pay claimants $3,500 apiece if officers failed to release them within three hours after bail was paid. Approximately 72,000 people were affected between October 2014 and October 2022, attorneys on the case said and 41% of them filed claims.
The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleged that the reason for long delays in releasing people included malfunctioning computers and unavailable staff. The Department of Correction said it has since implemented a system to expedite the release of people after bail is posted.
The total payout — $142.9 million — is far higher than attorneys expected and could grow since late claims will be accepted until November.
Attorneys on the case from Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel undertook an extensive public relations campaign to get the word out about the settlement — posting a website and ads in English and Spanish on TV, newspaper, radio and social media. Notices about the settlement were displayed on buses and subways, in homeless shelters and public housing complexes, and at methadone programs and bodegas.
Vasudha Talla, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the extraordinary number of people who came forward to claim money reflects the fact that this is “a really meaningful settlement for them for the harm they suffered.”
“To receive this money not only addresses that harm, but allows them to carry on their lives,” Talla said.
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