On June 2, 2023, the Riverside Superior Court granted final approval of the settlement and entered a final judgement in the lawsuit called Freeman v. 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. Para ver esta información en español, haz clic aquí.
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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 17, 2023. The Court will decide final approval of the Settlement at the fairness hearing on June 2, 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.
Scroll down or click here to read the notice to class members.
*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
Name/Nombre: Rust Consulting, Inc.
Website/Sito Web: www.riversidejuvenilefees.com
Toll Free Number/Número de teléfono gratuito: (833) 472-1997
Mail/ Dirección de envío: Freeman v Riverside Settlement Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting Inc., – 7737
PO Box 2599
Faribault, MN 55021-9599
Class Action Counsel
National Center for Youth Law
Hong Le (English)
1212 Broadway, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94602
(510) 214-3408
[email protected]
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Rebecca Miller (Spanish)
3701 Wilshire Blvd Suite 308
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 235-2642
[email protected]
Forms for Class Members
If you want to be part of the Settlement and receive your refund check, you do not need to fill out any forms.
To object to the Settlement, complete this form and return it to the Settlement Administrator by March 23, 2023: English / Spanish
To exclude yourself from (opt out of) the Settlement, complete this form and return it to the Settlement Administrator by March 23, 2023: English / Spanish
