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Consumer Government Fees New York

Suffolk County Red Light Camera Fee Settlement

Settlement Amount
Up to $36 per fee
Claim Deadline
December 8, 2026
Total Fund
$45,000,000
File on the official site → suffolkredlightsettlement.com

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The Suffolk County Red Light Camera Fee Settlement covers one narrow thing: the $30 administrative fee that Suffolk County and the Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violation Agency added on top of the fine for each red-light camera violation. It is not a settlement about red-light cameras generally. If your ticket came from Nassau County, New York City, Yonkers, Rochester, Buffalo or any red-light camera program in another state, you are not in this class. You also must have actually paid the $30 fee — this settlement returns that fee, not the underlying red-light fine. For the people who do qualify, the benefit is up to $36 for each administrative fee paid since April 1, 2013, and it stacks per ticket: someone who paid the fee on five violations may claim up to $180 across those five, not a single $36 payment. $36 is a ceiling, not a promise — the Notice says payments are subject to a pro rata reduction if valid claims exceed the maximum benefit amount of $45,000,000. That $45,000,000 caps class member payments only: attorneys' fees of up to $12,500,000, a $5,000 class representative award and administration expenses are paid separately by the County Defendants, on top of it, so they do not shrink what class members receive. Where you live does not matter — the class is defined by having paid the fee, so an out-of-state driver ticketed in Suffolk County is covered on the same terms as a New York resident. Watch the split deadline: claims are due December 8, 2026, but opting out or objecting is due November 9, 2026.

Do I Qualify?

You may be eligible if:

The Notice does not list any receipt, ticket stub, bank record or other document that must be attached to the Claim Form. What it does treat as part of the process is a credential: the settlement website's home page tells class members to use its Contact Us page to obtain a Class Member ID, and to allow one to two business days for that request to be processed. The objection requirements in the Notice also list the Class Member ID number among the information an objection must include. Treat this settlement as ID-gated and request the Class Member ID well before December 8, 2026 rather than on it — the ID is not issued instantly, and a request made on deadline day may not come back in time. If you are unsure whether the County's records show the administrative fees you paid, the Settlement Administrator can be reached at (833) 447-6790.

File your claim through the official settlement website at suffolkredlightsettlement.com before December 8, 2026.

File on the official site → suffolkredlightsettlement.com

Opens the court-appointed administrator's site in a new tab.

What Happened?

The case is McGrath v. Suffolk County, et al., Index No. 608155/2016, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Suffolk. The Class Representative is Robert McGrath, Jr. The Defendants are Suffolk County and the Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violation Agency (the “County Defendants”).

The Plaintiff alleges that as early as April 1, 2013 and continuing through January 25, 2023, the County Defendants imposed excess liability for red-light camera violations. The Action claims that New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1111-b limits liability to $50 per violation, and that the County Defendants charged an unlawful $30 administrative fee on top of the fine for each red-light camera violation.

According to the Notice, the Court declared these Administrative Fees to be illegal and enjoined the County Defendants from imposing them. The County Defendants are pursuing appellate review as to certain rulings by the Court. Beyond that injunctive relief, the Action seeks to recover the Administrative Fees that class members paid.

The County Defendants deny the merit of the allegations and deny any wrongdoing. The Court has not decided in favor of either side; the parties agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a trial.

If the Court approves the Settlement, the County Defendants will pay up to $45,000,000 for cash payments to Settlement Class Members who file Valid Claims, and have separately agreed to pay Settlement Administration Expenses, the court-approved attorneys' fees and costs, and an award to the Class Representative.

Class Counsel are Kevin S. Landau and Brett Cebulash of Taus, Cebulash & Landau, LLP and David J. Raimondo of The Raimondo Law Firm. They will ask the Court to approve attorneys' fees of up to $12,500,000 and a $5,000 award to the Class Representative, which the County Defendants pay in addition to and separately from the up to $45,000,000 set aside for class member claims.

Unless a class member opts out, final approval means giving up the right to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the County Defendants about the legal claims this Settlement resolves. That release binds class members who file nothing just as much as those who file.

The Fairness Hearing is scheduled for December 8, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the Supreme Court of New York, Suffolk County, 1 Court Street, Riverhead, NY 11901 — the same day claims are due. Attendance is optional. The Notice warns the date and time may change without further notice and tells class members to check the settlement website for updates. Nothing is final until the Court approves the Settlement and any appeals are resolved.

How to File Your Claim

  1. Request your Class Member ID first — the settlement website's home page tells class members to use its Contact Us page to obtain a Class Member ID and to allow one to two business days for the request to be processed, so do not leave this until December 8
  2. File the Claim Form online at www.SuffolkRedLightSettlement.com by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 8, 2026
  3. Or download the paper Claim Form from the same site and mail it to McGrath v. Suffolk County, et al., c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324, postmarked on or before December 8, 2026
  4. Claim every administrative fee you paid, not just one — the benefit is up to $36 for EACH fee paid during the Claim Period, so five violations means five fees to claim
  5. The Notice does not list any receipt or document that must be attached to the Claim Form
  6. The Class Member ID is the credential the settlement website routes class members through
  7. Questions go to the Settlement Administrator at (833) 447-6790
  8. SPLIT DEADLINE — a written request for exclusion (opting out) must be postmarked by November 9, 2026 and mailed to all three of the Settlement Administrator, Class Counsel and counsel for the County Defendants
  9. It must state your full name, address and phone number, an unequivocal statement that you request to opt out of the Settlement in McGrath v. Suffolk County, et al., Index No. 608155/2016, and your signature
  10. An objection, and any notice of intent to appear at the Fairness Hearing, must be filed with or mailed to the Clerk of the Court, Supreme Court of New York, Suffolk County, 1 Court Street, Riverhead, NY 11901 and copied to the same three recipients, postmarked or submitted by November 9, 2026
  11. An objection must include your Class Member ID number, and the Notice warns that no grounds may be raised later that were not expressly stated in the written objection
  12. Objecting does not cost you your payment — the Notice says a class member who objects can still submit a Claim Form. Opting out does: it ends any right to a payment
  13. Doing nothing gets you nothing and still binds you to the release
  14. Visit the official claim form: https://www.suffolkredlightsettlement.com/

How Much Will I Actually Get?

A class member may submit a Claim Form to receive up to $36 for each red-light violation Administrative Fee paid between April 1, 2013 and the present. The per-fee structure is the part most summaries get wrong: this is NOT one $36 payment per person. Someone who paid the $30 fee on a single violation may claim up to $36; someone who paid it on five violations may claim up to $180 across those five. The benefit stacks per ticket rather than asking you to pick between options — there is no separate tier for documented losses and no second benefit to weigh against this one. The Claim Form is the only route to money: the Notice is explicit that a class member who does nothing receives nothing and is still bound by the release. $36 is a ceiling rather than a guaranteed figure. The Notice states the payment amount may be subject to a pro rata (proportional) reduction based on the total amount of Valid Claims submitted if those claims exceed the maximum Benefit amount of $45,000,000, so the final per-fee figure depends on how many class members file and how many fees each of them claims. Note carefully what the $45,000,000 does and does not cover: it is the ceiling on CLASS MEMBER PAYMENTS ALONE, not on the settlement as a whole. Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys' fees of up to $12,500,000 and a $5,000 award to the Class Representative, and the Notice says the County Defendants will pay those amounts, plus Settlement Administration Expenses, in addition to and separately from the up to $45,000,000 set aside for class member claims. A fee award therefore does not reduce what class members receive — the reverse of the usual arrangement where fees come out of the fund. Because the County Defendants pay “up to” $45,000,000 to class members who file Valid Claims, this is a claims-made settlement: money that nobody claims is simply not paid out. No payment date has been announced. The Notice says benefits will be distributed as soon as possible if and when the Court grants final approval and after any appeals of that approval are resolved, and separately that the County Defendants are pursuing appellate review as to certain rulings by the Court.

Last reviewed: September 18, 2026 | Information verified from court records and official settlement documents.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does this cover red-light camera tickets from anywhere other than Suffolk County?
No, and this is the most important thing on this page. The Settlement Class is defined as everyone who paid a $30 Administrative Fee to Suffolk County or the Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violation Agency for red-light camera program violations. A red-light camera ticket from Nassau County, New York City, Yonkers, Rochester, Buffalo or any program in another state is outside this class entirely, no matter how similar the administrative fee looks. Most people who go searching for a “red light camera settlement” will not qualify for this one. There is also a second filter that catches people out: you must have actually paid the $30 administrative fee. This settlement returns that fee, not the underlying red-light fine, so a Suffolk County violation that was dismissed, voided or never paid does not make you a class member.
Can I claim for more than one ticket, or is $36 the most I can get?
You can claim for every one. The Notice says a class member may submit a Claim Form to receive up to $36 for each red-light violation Administrative Fee paid between April 1, 2013 and the present. The benefit is per fee, not per person, and it stacks: one violation means up to $36, five violations mean up to $180 across those five. There is nothing to pick between and nothing to trade off — this is the settlement's only benefit, and the way to get more of it is to claim each fee you paid. Suffolk County's program ran for roughly a decade, so a long-time local commuter may well have paid the fee several times over.
Why is the payment $36 when the fee was only $30, and will I actually get $36?
The Notice sets the figure at up to $36 for each administrative fee paid during the Claim Period, which is more than the $30 fee itself. But it is a ceiling, not a guarantee. The Notice states the payment amount may be subject to a pro rata (proportional) reduction based on the total amount of Valid Claims submitted if those claims exceed the maximum Benefit amount of $45,000,000. So the final per-fee figure depends on how many class members file and how many fees each of them claims, and nobody can tell you in advance what it will be. No payment date has been announced either.
Do the attorneys' fees come out of the $45,000,000?
No — and that is worth knowing, because it is the reverse of the usual arrangement. The $45,000,000 is the cap on cash payments to class members alone, not a cap on the settlement as a whole. Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys' fees of up to $12,500,000 and a $5,000 award to the Class Representative, and the Notice says that if approved, the County Defendants will pay these amounts in addition to, and separately from, the up to $45,000,000 set aside for class member claims. Settlement Administration Expenses are also paid separately. A fee award therefore does not reduce what any class member receives. What can reduce your payment is other class members: the pro rata cut applies only if valid claims exceed the $45,000,000.
Do I have to live in New York to qualify?
No. The class definition turns on having paid the $30 administrative fee to the County Defendants for a red-light camera program violation — it says nothing about where you live. A driver from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania or anywhere else who was ticketed in Suffolk County and paid the administrative fee is covered on exactly the same terms as a Long Island resident. The flip side is just as true: living in New York does not qualify you on its own. The violation has to have come from the Suffolk County program. Businesses and other entities that paid the fee on vehicles they own are also included on the same terms as individuals.
What proof do I need, and what is a Class Member ID?
The Notice does not name any receipt or document you must attach to the Claim Form. It does, however, treat a Class Member ID as part of the process. The settlement website's home page tells class members to use its Contact Us page to obtain a Class Member ID and to allow one to two business days for that request to be processed, and the Notice's objection requirements list the Class Member ID number among the information an objection must include. Practically, that means you should request the ID well before the December 8, 2026 deadline rather than on it — it is not issued instantly. The Settlement Administrator can also be reached at (833) 447-6790.
What is the difference between the December 8 and November 9 deadlines?
December 8, 2026 is the claim deadline — online submissions by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, paper Claim Forms postmarked by that date — and it is also the date of the Fairness Hearing. November 9, 2026, almost a month earlier, is the last date to opt out of the class or to object to the Settlement. Opting out means mailing a signed written request for exclusion to all three of the Settlement Administrator, Class Counsel and counsel for the County Defendants, and it ends any right to a payment. Objecting is different: it goes to the Clerk of the Court with copies to those same three recipients, it must include your Class Member ID, and the Notice says a class member who objects can still submit a Claim Form. If you are thinking about suing Suffolk County yourself instead, November 9 is the date that binds you.
The class runs “to the present” but the allegations stop in January 2023. Which applies?
Both statements are in the Notice, and the difference is real enough to be worth flagging. The class definition in section 5 covers all Persons or Entities who between April 1, 2013 and the present paid a $30 Administrative Fee for red-light camera program violations, and section 8 describes the benefit as up to $36 for each fee paid between April 1, 2013 and the present. The description of the allegations in section 2, though, says the conduct ran from as early as April 1, 2013 and continued through January 25, 2023, after which the Court declared the fees illegal and enjoined them. The practical answer is to claim for every administrative fee you paid from April 1, 2013 onward and let the Settlement Administrator apply the class definition, rather than deciding for yourself that a fee falls outside the period.
Does the County's pending appeal delay payment?
It may. The Notice says the County Defendants are pursuing appellate review as to certain rulings by the Court, and separately that benefits will be distributed as soon as possible if and when the Court grants final approval of the Settlement and after any appeals of that approval are resolved. It adds that it is always uncertain whether appeals will be filed or how long they take. No distribution date has been announced. None of that changes what a class member should do now: filing a valid Claim Form by December 8, 2026 is what preserves the right to a payment whenever distribution actually happens.
What happens if I do nothing?
You get nothing and still lose something. The Notice is blunt about it: a class member who does nothing gives up the right to start a lawsuit, continue a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against the County Defendants and the Released Parties about the legal issues this Settlement resolves, will be bound by the Releases, and will not be eligible to receive a cash payment. There is no automatic payment in this settlement and no fallback for class members who miss the deadline — the Claim Form is the only route to money.

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