NYCLU, A&O Shearman Secure Settlement with Suffolk County Providing for Improvement in Jail Conditions and $18 Million Payment

Settlement resolves a 2012 class-action lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional conditions at two Suffolk County jails and requires structural changes   

NEW YORK – The New York Civil Liberties Union and the law firm A&O Shearman (AOS) announced a settlement in their 2012 class-action lawsuit challenging the deplorable conditions and health and safety risks pervasive at two overcrowded Suffolk County jails, Riverhead and Yaphank. As part of the settlement, the County is required to improve the conditions at the jails and pay $18 million.  

“Since 2011, we have been fighting to hold Suffolk County accountable for the horrific conditions we faced while incarcerated at the jails. This settlement brings closure to a long-awaited demand for better living conditions for all people housed in these facilities,” said plaintiff Abdur Sabur, also known as Mack Butler. “Thank you to all the class members who have advocated alongside us for years, and to the attorneys who have represented us.”    

“This settlement means that people awaiting trial in Suffolk County will no longer be subjected to the degrading conditions while awaiting trial and fighting for their freedom,” said plaintiff Clyde Lofton. “I am grateful that no one else will have to experience the degrading conditions I faced while incarcerated at the Suffolk County jail, and I hope this is a positive step forward for the people of Suffolk County.”    

Under the terms of the settlement, the County has agreed to physically repair the jails (including plumbing, rust, mold, ventilation, vermin, and kitchen health code violations), employ an environmental health professional to supervise conditions in the jails, train staff and incarcerated individuals in the use of cleaning supplies, take steps to ensure such supplies are disseminated, and ensure proper vermin and pest control programs. The County is also subject to an inspection regime that requires a court-approved expert to inspect the facilities and prepare public annual reports for at least the next three years. Once the court preliminarily approves the settlement, class members will receive notice—via mail, advertisements, and postings in the jails—notifying them of their ability to participate in the final approval process and providing them with instructions to submit their own claims for compensation under the settlement.    

“This settlement provides much-needed relief to the many incarcerated New Yorkers who have been subject to inhumane and unconstitutional conditions at the Suffolk County jails. It also means that the county’s longstanding indifference to this manufactured crisis will finally come to an end,” said Gabriella Larios, staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “The settlement requires Suffolk County to make structural changes to improve the jails and compensate those who have been exposed to their horrendous conditions. We’ll be watching closely to ensure the county lives up to that commitment.”    

“We are proud to have partnered with the New York Civil Liberties Union to achieve this landmark settlement on behalf of incarcerated individuals in Suffolk County. For over a decade, we worked tirelessly to hold the County accountable for the unconstitutional conditions in its correctional facilities. This settlement represents a significant step forward in protecting the rights and dignity of those impacted,” said Daniel Laguardia and John Nathanson, partners at A&O Shearman.  

The 2012 class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of individuals currently and previously detained at two overcrowded Suffolk County jails: Riverhead and Yaphank. The lawsuit alleged that people housed in these facilities have been subjected to a range of severely unsanitary and inhumane conditions, including defective plumbing, overflowing sewage, chronic overcrowding, poor water, food, and air quality, rodent and insect infestation, pervasive mold and rust, and freezing temperatures. The plaintiffs suffered various skin infections, abscesses, difficulty breathing, persistent headaches, and other ailments arising from the poor conditions within the jails.  

NYCLU counsel on the case includes staff attorneys Gabriella Larios, Veronica Salama, interim legal director Molly Biklen and paralegal Zawareen Zakaria. A&O Shearman counsel includes Daniel Laguardia, John Nathanson, Elizabeth Stewart, and Benjamin Klebanoff, among a large number of AOS lawyers and staff who participated over the length of the case. 

You can find the settlement here: https://www.nyclu.org/court-cases/butler-v-suffolk-county-challenging-appalling-inhumane-conditions-suffolk-county-jails   

###