Nassau doesn't have to repay 'voluntary' red light camera fees, judge rules

A judge has ruled Nassau County doesn't have to make restitution for $100 red light camera fees collected from millions of drivers over the years, since the fees — though illegal — were "voluntarily" paid. An attorney for the plaintiffs, meanwhile, said he'd appeal, noting the county court has already been overruled twice in the case.

Nassau Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker on Monday dismissed the case brought by a driver in 2016, whose attorneys are seeking to turn the case into a class action. The judge wrote the driver paid the fees willingly, since he did not protest at the time.

Suffolk and Nassau have faced lawsuits demanding hundreds of millions in restitution to drivers for fees they charged over the $50 base fine allowed under state law. Late last year, an appeals court ruled the counties' fees violated a 2009 state law that set the maximum fine for red light camera violations at $50 with a $25 late fee, then handed the cases back to county courts to decide on restitution.

Suffolk County, which charged a $30 extra fee until 2022 and then dropped the camera program entirely last year, is currently negotiating with plaintiffs over repaying $91 million  the county collected in illegal fees, or a portion of the total. Monday's ruling only applies to the case in Nassau.

Nassau's program is still operating, though they stopped charging a $45 public safety fee and $55 driver responsibility fee in 2024. Nassau authorities have not yet answered Newsday's public records requests about how much they collected in illegal fees, but the plaintiff's lawyer, Lake Grove-based David Raimondo, estimated it was around $400 million.

County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment on the county’s recent victory in court.

Among other cases, the judge cited a 1995 decision from the Court of Appeals — New York’s highest court — that found the lower Hudson Valley Town of Wallkill did not have to reimburse a video store for a fee that was later deemed illegal.

In order to get restitution, the payer of an illegal tax must show they paid involuntarily — either by protesting at the time or showing they made the decision "under duress." Rademaker wrote that the driver did not pay the red light camera fees under duress since failure to pay could result in late fees but not license point deductions.

But Raimondo, the driver’s lawyer, said payments were anything but voluntary.

"Nassau coerced people to make the payments by threatening to boot or tow their car ... and then it says, ‘But you gave it to me!’" Raimondo told Newsday, adding that he plans to appeal to the Appellate Division in Brooklyn.

Edward Zelinsky, a law professor at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, said he finds it concerning "that a taxpayer must pay a tax under protest to maintain her right to object subsequently."

But he and Emily Sherwin, a professor at Cornell Law School, both said well-established case law in New York usually makes it difficult for citizens or businesses to recoup taxes or fees from the government, even when those taxes or fees are later deemed illegal.

"If you do lodge a 'protest' at the time you pay the tax, you probably can recover the money if the tax is later held illegal," Sherwin added.

Separate from the courts, the county legislature could enact legislation to reimburse drivers. But when Nassau Democrats tried to do so in December, Presiding Officer Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) quashed the measure and Blakeman’s office stated "what happened in the past is in the past."

"The Democrats know reimbursements of past fees would destroy the fiscal stability of the county," Kopel said at the time.

Meanwhile, Suffolk County is currently in negotiations with the plaintiffs — whom a Suffolk judge granted class action status — to reach a settlement about its extra fees, according to Raimondo. Suffolk spokesman Michael Martino said he could not comment, citing pending litigation.

Raimondo noted if a judge ordered either county to repay all the illegal fees back, they would likely have to pay 9% annual interest on the total, under state law.