O’Day et al v. Nassau County et al

Welcome to the In re Nassau County Strip Search Cases website

This website contains information regarding a proposed class action lawsuit that has been preliminarily approved by the Court in In re: Nassau County Strip Search Cases, Nos. CV-99-3126(DRH), CV-99-2844(DRH), CV-994238(DRH).

NATURE OF THE SETTLEMENT

Several cases were filed claiming that Nassau County Sheriff Joseph P. Jablonsky and others created an unconstitutional policy that required NCCC officers to strip search everyone arrested and admitted to the NCCC regardless of the crime or offense for which they were charged. These lawsuits were combined into one case called In re: Nassau County Strip Search Cases, Nos. CV-99-3126(DRH), CV-99-2844(DRH), CV-994238(DRH).

The defendants conceded liability and, on January 16, 2007, the Court certified a class for all persons arrested for misdemeanors or non-criminal offenses in Nassau County who were thereafter strip searched at the NCCC pursuant to a blanket policy, practice and custom that required all arrestees to be strip searched upon admission to the facility, from May 20, 1996 until and including June 1, 1999.

You can get $500 for each time you were strip searched upon admission at the Nassau County Correctional Center between May 20, 1996 and June 1, 1999.

Money has been awarded in a class action lawsuit in which it was determined that Nassau County unlawfully strip searched people arrested for misdemeanor and non-criminal offenses upon admission them to the Nassau County Correctional Center (“NCCC”), located at 100 Carman Avenue, East Meadow, New York, between May 20, 1996 and June 1, 1999. This award, in the amount of $500 per strip search, is to compensate those affected for the injury suffered to their human dignity.

To request your payment, simply complete and return your Claim Form postmarked by February 15, 2018.

The Court decided that other damages, if any, beyond the $500 per strip search should not be included as part of this class action because of their individual nature. Therefore, if you would like to file your own lawsuit for emotional distress, financial loss or other items of damages related to your strip search experience, you are free to do so. If you decide to file your own lawsuit, you may use the liability judgment obtained in the class action lawsuit to establish liability against defendants in your individual lawsuit, leaving only the issue of other damages to be established in your individual lawsuit. If you decide to file your own lawsuit there are time limits. See subsequent paragraph in this Notice entitled “What are the time limits for filing a lawsuit for damages beyond the $500 per strip search.”

For more information about the Settlement, please review the Class Notices.

THE SETTLEMENT CLASS

All persons arrested for misdemeanors or non-criminal offenses in Nassau County who were thereafter strip searched at the Nassau County Correctional Center pursuant to a blanket policy, practice and custom that required all arrestees to be strip searched upon admission to the facility, from May 20, 1996 until and including June 1, 1999.