$30M LA County Juvenile Detention Settlement Resolves Lawsuit Over Alleged Civil Rights Violations

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A $30 million settlement has been reached to resolve a class action lawsuit that claimed the conditions within certain Los Angeles County juvenile detention facilities were unconstitutional and violated detainees’ civil rights.

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The court-approved website for the LA County juvenile detention class action settlement can be found at LACountyJuvenileDetentionSettlement.com.

The deal, which received preliminary court approval on March 18, 2025, covers all individuals born on or after February 15, 2002 who were detained in an LA County juvenile hall or camp.

According to the settlement agreement, the facilities covered by the deal include Central Juvenile Hall, Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall (now closed), Camp Clinton B. Afflerbaugh, Camp Vernon Kilpatrick, Camp Joseph Paige, Camp Glenn Rockey, Dorothy Kirby Center and Camp Scott.

Eligible class members must submit a valid claim form by November 28, 2025 to receive an LA County juvenile detention settlement payout.

Claim forms can be filed online on this page. Alternatively, class members may download a PDF claim form to print, complete and return by mail.

Online submission requires a unique ID and PIN, which can be found on the personalized settlement notice issued about the deal.

The LA County juvenile detention settlement website explains that the $30 million fund, after payment of attorneys’ fees, administrative costs and other litigation expenses, will be divided among class members based on how many days they spent in one of the covered facilities. Per the site, more value will be placed on days spent in a juvenile hall due to allegedly worse conditions.

Individual payout amounts will also depend on the total number of valid claims that are filed, the website adds.

The court will decide whether to grant final approval to the terms of the deal at a hearing in Los Angeles on January 28, 2026. Class action settlement payments will be distributed to eligible class members only if the deal receives ultimate court approval, the site says.

The Los Angeles County juvenile detention lawsuit, whose claims pertain only to the three juvenile halls, contended that although the facilities were required by law to provide safe and rehabilitative environments, detainees held at these centers endured “dehumanizing and unconstitutional conditions of confinement.”

The class action suit alleged that detainees were deprived of access to bathrooms, basic privacy and proper clothing and bedsheets. In addition, staff reportedly showed a “deliberate indifference to mental health conditions” and subjected individuals to excessive and punitive force by “routinely deploying pepper spray” in response to even minor infractions, the case asserted.

Alongside the county itself, the lawsuit named as defendants the Los Angeles County Department of Probation, its chief probation officer, several former officers and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

The class action settlement with Los Angeles County does not cover claims for sexual abuse or harassment, sexual assault, other sex-related violations or injury as a result of physical force, nor does it pertain to currently filed individual cases against the county that involve juvenile detention facilities. According to the settlement website, class members can still file an individual suit for these types of claims if applicable.

Did you know that some class action settlements require no proof to submit a claim? Check out the latest open class action settlements.