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This settlement is closed!
Please see what other class action settlements you might qualify to claim cash from in our Open Settlements directory!
UPDATE 7:
- This class action settlement is paying out $451 in a second round of payments.
UPDATE 6:
- Readers reported this settlement paying out more than $400 as of Jan. 26, 2022.
- Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!
UPDATE 5:
- The settlement will become effective Nov. 3, 2021.
- First payments are expected to be issued in two to three months.
- Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
UPDATE 4:
- According to the settlement website, the Supreme Court petition will not be decided until October 2021 or later.
- Settlement payments will remain on hold until the petition for review is resolved.
UPDATE 3:
- On May 13, 2021, an objector filed a petition seeking review of the settlement by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The settlement will not become effective until after the review request is decided.
- Top Class Actions will continue to provide case updates as they become available.
UPDATE 2:
- On Sept. 10, 2020, an appeal to the L.A. Women’s Jail Strip Search Class Action Settlement was filed.
- Claims will not be paid until all appeals are exhausted.
- We appreciate your ongoing patience. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more.
UPDATE:
- The L.A. Women’s Jail Strip Search Class Action Settlement was granted final approval Aug. 11, 2020.
- Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
The County of Los Angeles has agreed to pay a total of $53 million to settle class action allegations that women inmates were subject to degrading strip searches while entering or returning to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, Calif.
The settlement represents the largest payout in the county’s history.
The Lynwood strip search settlement website notes that Class Members include those who were subjected to a strip search in a group outside of the bus garage while entering or returning from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Lynwood Jail between March 5, 2008 and Jan. 31, 2015.
Lead plaintiffs claimed that thousands of inmates were subjected to unnecessary and violating strip searches. Plaintiff Jessica Almaraz alleged that she was strip searched a total of five times during her time at the Sheriff Department’s Century Regional Detention Facility.
According to the female inmates, women were often strip searched in groups. They say that they were forced to take off their clothes and be invasively strip searched in front of other women. Allegedly, deputies degraded them and yelled profanity during these searches.
The plaintiffs claim that this treatment violated their Fourth Amendment rights.
Eligible Class Members will be able to receive at least $200 for one strip search, while those who experienced numerous strip searches are likely to end up with thousands of dollars.
Inmates must complete and return a Claim Form to receive monetary recovery. According to the strip search class action, qualifying individuals should have received a Claim Form in the mail. Class Members may also compete a Claim Form online.
Class Members can exclude themselves from the settlement, or object to it by June 4, 2020. Those who excluded themselves from the settlement retain their right to pursue independent litigation over the strip searches, but waive their rights to claim benefits from this settlement.
Former inmates who do nothing will receive no benefits, and waive their rights to pursue independent litigation.
Class Members can also attend the final approval hearing on July 20, 2020, in which a judge will decide whether or not the settlement will be approved.
Who’s Eligible
Individuals who were subjected to a strip search in a group outside of the bus garage while entering or returning from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Lynwood Jail between March 5, 2008 and Jan. 31, 2015.
Potential Award
At least $200 and up to thousands of dollars.
No Class Member who files a claim will receive less than $200 (for one search under the least bad conditions). Persons with the highest number of searches – up to 50 – will likely receive thousands of dollars.
Proof of Purchase
N/A
Claim Form
NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.
Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Claim Form Deadline
6/4/2020
Case Name
Mary Amador, et al. v. Sheriff Leroy D. Baca, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-01649-SVW-JEM, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Final Hearing
7/20/2020
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Lynwood Strip Search Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91070
Seattle, WA 98111
info@LynwoodStripSearch.com
1-855-233-1237
Class Counsel
Barrett S. Litt
Lindsay Battles
KAYE McLAN BEDNARSKI & LITT
DONALD COOK ATTORNEY AT LAW
Colleen Flynn
LAW OFFICES OF COLLEEN FLYNN
Cynthia Anderson-Barker
LAW OFFICES OF CYNTHIA ANDERSON-BARKER
Defense Counsel
Andrew Baum
GLASER WEIL
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330 thoughts onL.A. Women’s Jail Strip Search Class Action Settlement
Has anyone received their check yet?
Has anyone got any money yet when will we see anything .will we just get sumthing in the mail..
What information do they need Dee?
No I don’t y honk so
My bad typo I meant no i don’t think anyone’s got there payout yet.
Yes all the things that are said and done in that bus grage .is some sick shit on the cops part and them being women..i wish. We could turn the tables on the cops see how they would feel . hopeing the checks come soon few more mo.we all should stand out front if the jail.with r checks in hand.sign that read dumb ass wanna be cops.thats the feeling they left me but its all behide me .they have to face god one day .
It WAS A HORRIBLE experience for me as well. Besides being treated badly in the middle of the night, in the cold bus garage we all watched this poor young girl being thrown on the ground naked, crying and being yelled at. She was dong as she was told but I’m guessing NOT fast enough. I could not sleep for months after this awful experience. I was not given my medication I had in my purse for 4 days. My paper work got lost so I was not released when I should have been. I could NOT ask any questions either. It was AWFUL!!! I sure hope we all get our checks soon. It’s August 3rd 2020. I was shackled in chains waist to feet put in a bus in the middle of the night on my court date FINALLY with men on one side the bus in the dark women on the other, all chained up smelled like URINE and everything else.
First time going to jail ever . . . The gaurds beat up an old lady the first night there for not taking her clothes off fast enough she had to be in her 60’s.. we were all in this parking lot garage I guess we’re the buses come in at… It was about 25 of us butt hole naked for at least 10 mins or so it was at night and freezing… Please notify me when the case is settled I want Justice
What if I filed my claim on time and answered the paper work sent but I forgot my claim number?Will I still get it?And are they mailing it in
If you lost your claim, not s big deal as long as they have you social, current adress etc
When will we get the check anyone got paid yet ?
I got strip searched by boarder patrol u.s customs in front of males and other detainees i need this lawyers number please anyone please reach out to me
I hear all you ladies and I’m glad for anyone of us who do get a settlement . I did send in my claim and have my number . I hope they do send out payments. Thanks to all of you who came forward.
when and how much money am i gonna get….
You will get paid depending on the condition lack of privacy and the year you were there the earlier year will be more compensation like 2008 ,,,10 searches or more is 15,000 I believe going by the cypress formula
If I got stripped searched 35 times how much will I get
35 time? Damn your getting a good chunk of cash ,,,what yesr?
I was strip searched several times. I remember like it was yesterday it was so cold outside where they park the buses being strip searched in front of guy inmates walking by the guards. It didn’t matter they still made us, yelling at us. Its still a nightmare to me all these years later and I still think about it. God is good though and will get us all through.
I was there in 2009 and I was strip searched 5-6 times. Everyone seemed to be more violating than the prior ones. They would verbally and physically degrade me, instance, when I first arrived to the facility. I was on my menstrual cycle and was leaking through. When they escorted us to this outside cemented area that was very open and visible to other people, They had us face and told us to remove all clothing and place in front of us. I raised my hand and said excuse me in kinda of quite voice because I was embarrassed to remove my clothing as I knew I was bleeding heavy and leaking through. One of officers looked at me and said, “inmate No talking just remove clothing as told.” I immediately stated, but I am bleeding! The officer then replied, “Inmate do as your told, I don’t care as she made a rude comment to the other officer.” The entire time both officers were making rude and degrading comments to all of us. I was now dripping blood! They told me to bend over, spread wide, and squat and cough as hard as possible. Please use your imagination as to what followed. Then she said, ” a little wider inmate”. I had a piercing, which I was instructed to remove and hold in front of everyone. They would have me put it in a bag for receiving later. I was bleeding heavily! I was not even given a clean sanitary napkin until later as well. Totally gross and physically degrading! The entire time making rude comments to one another regarding me and other inmates. It was so horrible! This was my first time ever being incarcerated and I thought this is how I will be treated for the next four years, as tears streamed down my face. One made a smirk laugh and said poor baby. Thankfully, my term in state prison was not like this. I truly thought that they kinda had a right to treat me like they did. Especially, when I was continually reminded by the officers that I have no rights, just do as you are told! Thank you for helping us, Truly means the world to me.
—
Lovelife,
Kimberly Carter WA1237