Nassau County has been cleared from repaying $400 million in unlawful red-light camera fees following a perplexing ruling by a judge who claimed that drivers paid the fines voluntarily, despite the pressure of potential license suspensions.
The decision, described as “shocking” by the plaintiffs’ legal representative, has sparked calls for County Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker’s removal from the case, while Nassau officials continue to keep excess administrative fees collected from drivers for more than ten years.
“Judge Rademaker issued a highly controversial decision, asserting that citizens of Nassau County paid voluntarily despite the county’s unlawful actions,” stated attorney David Raimondo, who advocates for drivers challenging Nassau and Suffolk counties.
“This ruling is so detached from the law that it defies comprehension,” he remarked, contending that the judge’s decision was crafted to shield the county from substantial financial liability.
Raimondo also challenged the judge’s classification of the payments as “voluntary,” citing Nassau’s threats of license and registration revocation, towing vehicles, and impacting credit ratings for non-payment.
“There was no forum for contesting any administrative fee,” he argued, comparing the county’s coercive strategies to “economic extortion” that forces drivers into compliance.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2016, aimed to reclaim hundreds of millions unlawfully acquired by Nassau and Suffolk counties through unauthorized surcharges associated with their red-light camera systems.
Since 2009, drivers receiving red-light camera citations in Nassau had been required to pay an extra $100 “driver responsibility” fee, in addition to a base fine of $50 for running a red light. In Suffolk County, drivers faced a $30 administrative fee on top of their fines.
Last November, following a decade-long legal battle, the state appellate division deemed these extra fees illegal, as they inflated the total penalty beyond the allowable $50 and prohibited any more tickets from accruing these additional charges.
Conversely, Suffolk County is currently in discussions to resolve a nearly $91 million lawsuit aimed at reimbursing drivers for the unlawful fees, potentially securing an agreement as soon as Monday, which has intensified frustrations among Nassau drivers.
“Voluntary my foot,” exclaimed Jacqueline Phillips, a former red-light ticket payer in Nassau County, in response to the ruling.
“They intimidate you into payment — if I suggested that I’d only pay the fine and not the administrative fee, they would just laugh before suspending my license,” she added.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman opted not to comment.
