What is a false arrest case worth? The honest answer
Nobody can tell you on the first call, and you should be careful with anyone who does. What we can tell you is which seven facts move the number, and which public figures exist about other people's cases.
It is the first question on almost every call, and it is a fair one. You lost a night, or a week, or a job. You want to know whether a lawsuit is worth the next two years of your life.
Here is the honest answer: it depends on seven things, and on day one we usually know two of them. This post goes through all seven. The longer treatment is on the what a case is worth page, and the rules on each kind of damages are on the damages and fees page.
The seven things that move the number
- How long you were held. A false arrest claim pays for lost liberty. Four hours in a precinct and four days waiting for arraignment are different claims, even when the arrest was equally baseless.
- Whether you were hurt. Tight cuffs, a takedown, a missed dose of medication, a lost job, a missed custody date. Documented harm counts. Undocumented harm is an argument.
- How the criminal case ended. A dismissal opens a second claim, for malicious prosecution. A plea can close doors. Under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), a damages claim that would imply a conviction is invalid cannot go forward while the conviction stands.
- Video. The claim turns on what the officer knew in the seconds before the handcuffs went on. Body camera, a bodega camera, a bystander's phone. Footage that shows those seconds changes everything about how a case is defended.
- The officers' records. Since Civil Rights Law § 50-a was repealed on June 12, 2020, police disciplinary records are open to FOIL requests, with redactions. A history of similar complaints matters, to the City's lawyers too.
- Qualified immunity. An officer is shielded unless the conduct violated a clearly established right "of which a reasonable person would have known" (Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)). For an NYPD arrest, the City's own 2021 law says qualified immunity is not a defense (N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-804). Which law your claim fits under affects the risk.
- Who pays. A city answers under Section 1983 only for its own policy or custom (Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978)), and it is immune from punitive damages (City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, 453 U.S. 247 (1981)). A state-law claim names the City directly, but only if a notice of claim went in within 90 days.
Notice what is not on the list: how angry you are, how rude the officer was, and how sure your cousin is that you have a million-dollar case.
What the public numbers say
There is real public data, and you should see it. On March 2, 2026, the Legal Aid Society released its analysis of New York City Law Department data on NYPD misconduct lawsuits. For 2025, the City of New York paid out $117,251,230.82 across 1,044 lawsuits. That is a public payout statistic from the Legal Aid Society's release. It is about other people's cases, not this firm's, and it predicts nothing about yours.
Read it carefully. The table covers every kind of police misconduct lawsuit, not only false arrest. The figures are totals by year of disposition, so a single year mixes large cases with small ones. And the table leaves out claims the Comptroller settled before any lawsuit was filed. Our post on what $117 million tells you takes the table apart year by year, and the by the numbers page has the full series.
A total tells you the City pays. It does not tell you what the City will pay you.
Small on paper is not the same as worthless
Two decisions are worth knowing here.
In Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 592 U.S. 279 (2021), the Supreme Court held that nominal damages redress a completed violation and keep a case alive. A court can find that your rights were violated even where the provable loss is small.
In Garnett v. Undercover Officer C0039, 838 F.3d 265 (2d Cir. 2016), a jury awarded a man nominal damages plus $20,000 in punitive damages against the officer who fabricated evidence against him, and the Second Circuit affirmed. That is a jury verdict against an individual officer, reported in the court's published opinion. The Second Circuit also held that the claim stood even though probable cause for the arrest existed. It is one case, about someone else, and we cite it for the rule, not as a forecast.
Two more pieces round out the picture. A prevailing plaintiff in a Section 1983 case may be awarded a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs (42 U.S.C. § 1988(b)). And under the City's 2021 law, a plaintiff may elect a statutory $1,000 in damages instead of proving compensatory damages, plus fees and costs (N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-805).
The factor you control: the calendar
A state-law claim against the City of New York needs a notice of claim within 90 days after the claim arises (N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e(1)(a)), and the lawsuit within one year and 90 days (§ 50-i(1)). The federal claim has three years in New York. Miss the first date and part of the case is gone before anyone has valued it. The deadline tool counts the days for you.
Why we will not quote you a number
Because on the first call we have not seen the video, the arrest report, the criminal court file or the officer's history. Any figure we gave you would be a guess, and a guess from a lawyer lands like a promise. We do not make promises about outcomes.
What we will do is tell you which of the seven factors we can already see, which ones we need records for, and how long you have. Then we get the records.
If a charge from the arrest is still open, a person with a pending charge should talk to their defense lawyer before describing the arrest to anyone, including us. The criminal case and civil case page explains how the two cases fit together.
False arrest
Probable cause, the defenses, and when each clock starts.
The claim →What people have recovered
Federal and state recovery rules in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Recovery →The factors, in full
The longer version of this post, with the authority for each factor.
What a case is worth →Common questions
Why will you not give me a number?
Because any number given before the footage, the arrest paperwork and the criminal court file have been read is a guess, and a guess from a lawyer sounds like a promise. The value of a case depends on the injury, the evidence and the defenses. We explain the factors, we show you the public statistics about other people's cases, and we do not predict yours.
I was only held for a few hours and I was not hurt. Is there still a case?
There can be. A false arrest is a completed constitutional violation, and the Supreme Court has held that nominal damages redress a completed violation (Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 2021). Whether a short detention with no injury is worth bringing is a practical question about the evidence and the defenses, and that is a conversation, not a formula.
Does the City pay, or the officer?
It depends on the claim. Under Section 1983 a city is liable only where its own policy or custom caused the violation (Monell), and a city cannot be made to pay punitive damages (City of Newport v. Fact Concerts). Punitive damages run against the individual officer. A New York state-law claim names the City directly, which is one reason the 90-day notice of claim matters.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.