Suffolk County agrees to settle $18M class action lawsuit over jail conditions, documents show

Suffolk County has agreed to an $18 million settlement with inmates at the county's jails over allegations of unsanitary living conditions, including vermin infestation at its facilities in Riverhead and Yaphank dating back more than a decade, court papers show.

The class-action lawsuit's settlement grants monetary payments to individuals incarcerated at the jails from April 5, 2009, to a date that has not yet been agreed upon, the settlement said. The original plaintiffs are set to receive $20,000 each, the settlement said. Those who were incarcerated only at the facility in Yaphank that opened in 2013 are not eligible.

"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," said Gabriella Larios, staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a statement to Newsday Tuesday. "It also means that the county’s long-standing indifference to this manufactured crisis will finally come to an end. 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."

The lawsuit was filed on May 27, 2011, by inmate Rickey Lynch and 19 other inmates at the jail in Riverhead, arguing their constitutional rights were being violated due to the conditions at the jail, which they alleged included "ongoing exposure to human waste, mold, rust, vermin, freezing temperatures, and inadequate access to clean drinking water," according to the suit.

Lawyers from the Manhattan-based firm Allen Overy Shearman Sterling U.S. LLP and the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation later joined the action and it was amended to a class-action suit representing all of the 163 plaintiffs who had filed pro se complaints about jail conditions.

As part of the settlement, which was agreed to in late March, the county has to take the following actions:

• The county must appoint an employee to address environmental health concerns at both jail complexes for a minimum of three years.
• The county must provide cleaning and sanitation training in housing and kitchen areas to certain personnel and inmates through video and a rule book.
• The county must provide cleaning supplies to all inmates as well as clean mattresses and blankets.
• The county must provide protective equipment, including gloves and masks, to jail personnel and inmates.
• The county must identify and repair any plumbing issues, including making sure that toilets are properly functioning.
• The county must make repairs to any peeling paint or rust in the building's and remediate any mold issues, as well as ensure the jails' ventilation system is operating and there are no health code violations in the kitchen.
• The county will institute a vermin/pest control program.

The county must pay for an independent expert approved by the class-action's lawyers and the county to perform annual assessments of the county's progress for three years, the settlement says.

Michael Martino, a spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, said in a statement: "This suit was brought under the prior administration and could have cost county taxpayers hundreds of millions. Through the excellent work of our county attorney’s staff, we have drastically reduced the liability facing the county."

Martino added the county will pay about $5 million as part of the settlement and the rest will be paid by various insurance policies.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.