BASIC INFORMATION
1. Who is affected by this settlement?
2. What is this lawsuit about?
3. What is a class action and who is involved?
4. Why is there a settlement?
5. Who is in the settlement?

WHAT DO I GET FROM THE SETTLEMENT?
6. What does the settlement provide?
7. What is the jobs and education program?
8. What if I already have a job?
9. How do I apply for the job training program for myself or a relative?
10. What if I am not authorized to work in the United States?
11. Who can get tattoo removal?
12. Do I have to choose only one benefit?
13. What is the deadline to apply for benefits?
14. If I am in jail, prison or detention -- can I still apply for the jobs and education program?
15. If the class member is deceased, can the family still apply for benefits?

REMOVAL FROM THE GANG INJUNCTION
16. Have I been removed from the gang injunction?

NEW RULES FOR THE CITY AND LAPD
17. What new rules will LAPD have to follow?

OTHER PAYMENTS IN THE SETTLEMENT
18. Is anyone getting money from this settlement?
19. What are the lawyers getting out of this settlement?

QUESTIONS?
20. What if I have more questions?

The California Supreme Court has said that simply being in a gang is not a crime. (People v. Gardeley, 14 Cal. 4th 605, 624 (Cal. 1996)). For this case, it does NOT matter if you are actually in a gang. You may still be a part of this case. Participating in the case does NOT cost you any money.

To be a part of this case, you must have been served with one or more of the gang injunctions in the following court cases prior to February 20, 2013.

If you were served with one of those injunctions, you should have received a notice from the Court about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit, and about your options, before the Court decides whether to approve the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, and after objections and appeals are resolved, the jobs and education program and gang injunction removal process will begin.  You will be informed whether the settlement is approved or not.

The material below explains the lawsuit, the settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of the case is the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the case is known as Rodriguez et al v. City of Los Angeles, Case No. 11-CV-01135.  The Judge for the case is the Honorable Dolly M. Gee.  The people who sued are called Plaintiffs, and the Defendants, who were the ones sued, included the City of Los Angeles, Carmen Trutanich, Charles Beck, and Angel Gomez. 

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This lawsuit claims that the City of Los Angeles has served 26 gang injunctions with unconstitutional curfews on over 5,000 people. Specifically, the language contained in the injunctions that requires that people not go “outside” at specified times of the night unless they engage in unspecified “legitimate meeting or entertainment activit[ies]” has been determined by a California Court of Appeal to violate the California Constitution.

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In a class action, one or more people, called Class Representatives, sue for themselves and for people who have similar claims. In this case, the Class Representatives are Christian Rodriguez and the Estate of Alberto Cazarez. The person who brought the case – and all the Class Members like them – are called Plaintiffs. In a class action, one court resolves the issues for all the Class Members. U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee is in charge of this class action..

Judge Gee decided that the City violated the constitutional rights of class members when it enforced the injunctions with the unconstitutional curfew provisions. She also decided that class members are not entitled to receive an automatic award of $4,000 each for a violation of California law.

The case was set to go to trial. At trial, the class members were going to have to prove that they were harmed by the City’s enforcement of the unconstitutional curfew provision specifically, and not by the other provisions of the gang injunctions (such as the “do not associate” provision). A jury would have had to put a dollar figure on the amount of harm caused by the unconstitutional curfew provision. The lawyers for Plaintiffs determined that there was a big risk in going to trial: a jury could have decided that the injuries to the class members from the curfew provision were worth any amount of money – a few hundred dollars or a thousand dollars, for instance, or as little as one dollar. It is hard to quantify that injury in terms of money, so going to trial was a risk.

The lawyers for Plaintiffs determined that the up-to-$30 million offer was a good deal for the class. They did not think it was likely that class members would receive that much money in damages from a jury.

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To see if you can benefit from the settlement, you first have to determine if you are a Class Member. The Court has decided that all persons who have been served with any of the 26 gang injunctions listed above are members of this Class. In 2013, you should have received a notice asking you if you wanted to be part of the class or if you wanted to opt out of the class. If you were served with one of the injunctions mentioned above and if you did not opt out in 2013, then you can benefit from the settlement.

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The settlement provides a number of different benefits: (a) a jobs and education program; (b) tattoo removal; (c) a process to apply to get off the injunction; and (d) new rules that the LAPD has to follow.

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The jobs and education program is an individualized program that you can participate in. There are six phases to the program:

Phase I— Evaluation: First, you will be evaluated to figure out if you are ready for a job and have the necessary skills, or if you need more skills and education before you are ready for a job. You will work with a career counselor to develop an individualized service plan with structured goals.

If you and your career counselor decide that you would benefit from all Phases of the program, you will receive a stipend of $500 after completing Phase II and another $500 after you complete Phase III.

If you and your career counselor decide that you are ready for a job without additional training or education, you will skip to Phase IV. In that case, you will have access to up to $1,000 to address barriers preventing you from getting a job or making it difficult for you to keep your current job. For example, the $1,000 may be used to help you buy job-related apparel (such as work boots), tools you need for your job, or a Metro card to help you get to your job.

Phase II—Education: If you and your career counselor decide that you need additional education and training in order to meet your career goals, you will be offered all the courses you need to achieve the goals in your service plan, including tutoring, developing skills in reading and math, computer skills, financial skills, and others. You will take courses from professional educators, for instance at the Los Angeles Community College District or at LAUSD, as appropriate. You will also get counseling as needed on your career, legal issues, and other areas such as parenting.

Phase III— Job training: Participants will receive training in specific careers. Occupational careers training will include green programs such as transportation (hybrid and electric car repair) and construction (weatherization); and health care programs such as certified nurse assistant, home health aide, pharmacy technician, and medical coding and billing specialist occupations. If you are in a career that requires a certification (such as a nurse assistant), you will be offered preparation for that certification, which you will be able to use anywhere that it is accepted.

The Jobs and Education program will pay for any tuition costs over and above any grants that you can obtain for the education.

Phase IV—Subsidized Employment: Participants will be placed in a subsidized employment position with an employer in their chosen area of work. You will be paid at the City’s minimum hourly wage for up to 400 hours. The expectation is that at the end of the 400 hours, the employer will hire you in a regular position. If that does not happen, you will be given help in finding a permanent job with the City, other public agency, or a job with a private employer.

Phase V—Financial Literacy: You will be provided with a financial literacy course addressing the fundamentals of budgeting, saving and credit management.

Phase VI—Employment: Those who complete subsidized work opportunities will be referred to City and other public sector employment opportunities including local targeted hiring programs, apprentice programs and vocational programs. If selected through a competitive employment process, these alternative pathway programs provide trainee opportunities leading to full-time civil service positions.

For more details on the jobs and education program, click here.

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If you have a job but you would like to change careers, you can use the jobs and education program.

If you are happy with your job and career, you can use the jobs and education program to access up to $1,000 in job-related supportive services such as license or certificate fees, stipends for job-related specialized clothing or equipment, or transportation. You can also “upgrade” your skills so that you can get a promotion.

Alternatively, you can transfer the jobs and education program to a close relative: a child, parent, brother, sister, or spouse. Depending on how many people sign up for the program, you may be able to transfer the program benefit to an aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or first cousin.

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Upon final approval of the settlement, a claim form will be mailed to you that you can fill out and return. Once your membership in the class is verified, a representative of the job training program will contact you or your relative to schedule an appointment for evaluation.

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A Class Member who is not authorized to work under federal law cannot participate in Phases IV and VI of the program if he or she does not meet the federal right-to-work requirements. But any Class Member or designated relative, regardless of citizenship status, can participate in all other phases of the jobs and education program. You can also transfer benefits to a relative.

If you are not a United State citizen, please consult an immigration attorney and/or call (310) 997-0380 to learn about potential immigration consequences of applying for various benefits.

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Any class member can request tattoo removal, and it will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis until the full amount allocated has been used ($150,000 per year for four years). The benefit can be in addition to or instead of any other benefit offered under this settlement. Just as with the job training program, you will need to submit a claim form to receive this benefit so your membership in the class can be verified and a representative can contact you. This benefit is for class members only and cannot be transferred to a relative.

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No! You can get all the benefits (1) jobs and education program, (2) removal from the gang injunction, and (3) tattoo removal services. However, you will have to choose whether you want to participate in the jobs and education program yourself or whether you want to transfer it to a relative; you cannot do both.

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As of May 1, 2024, Class members may continue to submit their claims to receive services under the Jobs and Education Program and the Tattoo Removal Program. We encourage you to apply sooner rather than later because there is a maximum amount of money that the City will spend on the jobs and education program and the tattoo removal services. If you apply after that maximum has been reached, you may not receive the benefit.

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Depending on your situation, you may be able to receive services while in jail, prison, or detention. Or, while you are incarcerated or detained, or for any other reason, you can transfer the program to a close relative (parent, child, brother, sister, spouse, cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece) at any time.

If you are released before August 14, 2020, you can participate in the jobs and education program at that time; but you should apply as soon as you can because the funds for this are available only until a maximum has been reached.

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Yes. If the class member is deceased, the Jobs and Education Program benefits can be transferred to an heir.

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All class members have been removed from the gang injunctions and do not need to take further action.

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The City will stop enforcing the following provisions in each of the gang injunctions that are the subject of this lawsuit:
- Obey curfew
- Do not be in the presence of drugs
- Do not be in the presence of alcohol
- Obey all laws

In addition, the City will not serve any of the gang injunctions that are the subject of this lawsuit unless each the following additional documents are attached:
- Notice that any of the above provisions that are contained in the injunction will not be enforced
- A petition for removal from the gang injunction
- A list of referrals for services to assist in leaving gang life

Finally, the City Attorney’s Office will not prosecute any gang injunction curfew violations if someone is improperly arrested for such a violation.

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The City has agreed to put $20,000 into an account for the daughter of each of the Named Plaintiffs Christian Rodriguez and Alberto Cazarez for purposes of their education. They spent a considerable amount of time on this case working with the lawyers, giving testimony, appearing in court, and exposing themselves to public scrutiny. In addition, Alberto Cazarez is settling some of his individual claims against the City in addition to the class claims. The lawyers therefore believe it is fair that their families receive some compensation, and the Court will rule on these requests at the final hearing. The two payments will not come out of the fund for the jobs and education program.

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The City has agreed to pay the lawyers for the class for the value of their services and expenses, as determined by the Court. Even if the parties did not reach a settlement, attorney’s fees may be awarded in federal civil rights actions such as this one. The case lasted for five years and class counsel estimates that that there were between $4.8 and $9.6 million dollars in attorney’s fees and $100,000 in costs. The City will also pay to administer the settlement. These sums will not come out of any of the money set aside for the jobs and education program, the tattoo removal program, or other benefits provided to you and other class members. Some of the lawyers representing the class work for a non-profit law firm named Public Counsel, which depends on attorneys’ fees to provide free legal services to people who cannot afford them. Hadsell, Stormer & Renick and Orange Law Offices need attorney’s fees in order to be able to take important cases like this one.

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Please call (310) 997-0380 if you have any questions about filling out the form or about your eligibility.

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