Shirley Freeman v. County of Riverside- Notice of Class Action Settlement
Para ver esta información en español, haz clic aquí.
Are you a Riverside parent or guardian ever charged detention fees for a child in the juvenile justice system? You may be eligible for a cash refund.
Announcement - Final Approval Hearing
The Court approved the Settlement on June 2, 2023. Class Members should receive their refund checks by the end of July 2023.
CHECK YOUR MAIL - A second round of payments went out in December 2023 and must be cashed by April 11, 2024. If you did not receive this check, please contact Rust Consulting, Inc. immediately at 1-833-472-1997.
Shirley Freeman v. County of Riverside challenges the collection of detention fees
On June 2, 2023, the Riverside Superior Court granted final approval of the settlement and entered a final judgment in the lawsuit called Freeman v. County of Riverside, Case No. RIC2001772. A copy of the Order of Final Approval and Judgment can be found here. The deadline to object to or be excluded from the Settlement has passed. Class Members should receive their refund checks by the end of July 2023.
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Shirley Freeman v. County of Riverside is a class action lawsuit that challenges Riverside County’s policies and practices of charging and collecting detention fees from parents and guardians with a child in the juvenile justice system. The lawsuit, filed in March 2020, claims that Riverside County did not follow California law (Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 903 and 903.45) when it charged and collected detention fees from parents and guardians. The lawsuit also claims that Riverside County’s collection practices violated parents’ and guardians' constitutional due process rights.
Riverside County denies it did anything wrong but has agreed to settle the lawsuit. Under the proposed Settlement, Riverside County will pay $540,307.00 to refund class members for a portion of the detention fees collected. Class members are parents and guardians who made payments or had their tax refund taken or wages garnished from December 21, 2016, to April 21, 2020, for detention fees charged by Riverside County. If the Settlement is approved, class members will receive a refund of a portion of their payments to Riverside County. All participating class members will receive a minimum payment of $25.00.
The Court granted preliminary approval of the Settlement and ordered the distribution of class notice (see below) on January 13, 2023. The Court will decide final approval of the Settlement at the fairness hearing on May 18, 2023. Parents and guardians who believe they might be members of the class action entitled to relief under the Settlement should read the notice to class members for important information about the Settlement, forms, and deadlines.
*Class Members will receive this notice in the mail. If you did not receive this notice in the mail and you believe that you are a Class Member, you should contact the Settlement Administrator.
If you have questions, you can contact any of the following people:
Settlement Administrator
Rust Consulting, Inc.
www.riversidejuvenilefees.com
(833) 472-1997 (Toll-Free Phone Number)
Freeman v Riverside Settlement Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting Inc., -7737
PO Box 2599
Faribault, MN 55021-9599
Class Counsel
National Center for Youth Law
Hong Le (English)
(510) 214-3408
hle@youthlaw.org
National Center for Youth Law
Attn: Hong Le
1212 Broadway, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94602
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Rebecca Miller (Spanish)
(213) 235-2642
rmiller@wclp.org
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Attn: Rebecca Miller
3701 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 208
Los Angeles, CA 90010
NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT AND ENTRY OF JUDGMENT
For Class Members
If you want to be part of the Settlement and receive your refund check, youth do not need to fill out any forms.