Settlement Structure: Claims Made
Active: Closed
Closed Settlement Statement:
According to court documents, the claim submission deadline has passed. Please contact the claims administrator if you have any questions.
Case Summary:The City of Palo Alto is settling a class action about a Utility Users Tax (UUT) it collected from telephone users in the city. The complaint alleged that the tax was unlawful on certain tax-exempt telephone services.
Docket Number:2015-1-CV-284956
Company: City of Palo Alto, California
Filing Deadline: August 30, 2021
Class Period: August 1, 2006 to December 18, 2014
Objection Deadline: August 30, 2021
Exclusion Deadline: August 30, 2021
Final Approval Hearing: September 2, 2021
Proof of Purchase:For one line: Evidence of a current Palo Alto address, such as a utility bill or property tax bill. For two to ten lines: Telephone bill or bills from any time period that together identify every line for which you are requesting a refund. Every line must show a Palo Alto address. For more than ten lines: Telephone bill or bills from December 2013 to December 2014 that together identify every line for which you are requesting a refund. Every line must show a Palo Alto address.
Eligibility:You may be eligible if you are a person, individual, non-corporate entity, corporation who paid the UUT imposed by Palo Alto on the following services between August 1, 2006 and December 18, 2014:
- Flat-rate mobile telephone service that allows the subscriber to pay a periodic charge or a charge based on total minutes for an unlimited number of calls in a certain region.
- Flat-rate, separately-billed long distance landline telephone service that allows the subscriber to pay a periodic charge or a charge on the basis of minutes for an unlimited number of calls in a certain region.
- Per-minute mobile telephone service.
- Per-minute long-distance landline service.
You are not eligible if you only paid the UUT on
- Separately-billed local landline telephone service, or
- Bundled landline service (that is, local service combined with mobile or long-distance landline telephone services in a plan that does not separately state the local service charge.
Refunds may be made on voice or voice and data lines; no refunds will be made on data-only lines.
Typical Settlement Amount:$8.50 per line for the first five lines; $7.50 per line for the next five lines; and $6.50 per line for any remaining lines. Note that no refunds will be made on data-only lines.
Total Settlement Amount: $1,275,000
Class Representative Proposed Incentive Fee:$10,000
Law Firms:
Slovak, Baron, Empey, Murphy & Pinkney, LLP
Steele Cooper Law
Claim Form: Staats v. City of Palo Alto Claim Form
Case Name: Staats v. City of Palo Alto
Settlement Website: Staats v. City of Palo Alto Website
Claims Administrator:
JND Legal Administration
Staats v. City of Palo Alto Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91225
Seattle, WA 98111
1-888-681-1079
info@UtilityUsersTax.com