Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Class Action Settlement

Class Eligibility

You may be entitled to Settlement benefits if you are an LADWP customer who was overcharged for electric, water, sewage or sanitation services or were otherwise damaged from billing practices between the dates of September 3, 2013 and December 30, 2016, and/or for participation in the LADWP’s solar incentive program between February 13, 2010 and December 30, 2016.

Estimated Amount

Varies

The settlement provides monetary and non monetary relief as follows

Monetary Relief

Overbilled: This group includes all LADWP customers that were overbilled as a result of being charged an incorrect rate, incorrect amount of consumption, incorrect utility tax rate or who did not have a discount applied.

Incorrect Fee: This group includes all LADWP customers that were charged an incorrect fee, including but not limited to late payment fees, reconnect fees and/or start service fees.

Unrefunded Balance: This group includes all LADWP customers that: (i) have “Closed Accounts” with credit balances and (ii) are owed refunds that have been withheld by the LADWP during the period of September 3, 2013 to December 30, 2016.

Solar: This group includes all LADWP customers that have installed solar systems and applied to participate in the Solar Photovoltaic Incentive Program between February 13, 2010 and December 30, 2016 and: (i) experienced delay beyond 30 days after submission of a complete Incentive Application and Supporting Documentation and/or indication that the solar system was fully permitted and ready for inspection in receiving a reservation confirmation and/or connecting the solar system; and/or (ii) have not been billed for energy consumed and/or generated; and/or (iii) have not been credited for excess energy generated by the customer’s solar power system.

If you are part of the Overbilled, Incorrect Fee, Unrefunded Balance and/or Solar groups, the LADWP has already identified you and the letter included with this Class Notice informs you of the amount you were overbilled.

To receive 100% of that amount, you don’t need to do anything.

To dispute that amount, you must request Special Master review by sending a written request for review to the Claims Administrator. If you dispute the Special Master’s decision, you can appeal to the Court.

If you believe you have additional damages beyond that which has been identified, you must submit a Claim Form, which is included with this Class Notice.

Premise Condition/Estimated Bill: This group includes all LADWP customers that: (i) unbeknownst to the customer, had a premise condition that caused excessive consumption of water and/or power; (ii) received estimated bills for multiple billing periods after September 3, 2013; (iii) because of these estimated bills, were prevented from timely discovering the premise condition; and (iv) were charged for greater quantities of water, power or sewage than they otherwise would have been charged.

– Automatic Bill Payment/Bank Overdraft Charge: This group includes all LADWP customers that: (i) were enrolled in an automatic bill payment plan with a bank and (ii) were charged overdraft fees because the LADWP charged the customer an incorrect amount, which, in turn, resulted in the customer’s bank account being overdrawn.

If you are part of the Premise Condition/Estimated Billing and/or Automatic Bill Payment/Bank Overdraft Charge groups, the LADWP has already identified you and the letter included with this Class Notice informs you that you are a member of this/these Subclass(es).

The LADWP, however, cannot determine the amount of damages that you may have incurred, if any, unless you submit a Claim Form, which is included with this Class Notice. You must submit a Claim Form. If you believe you have additional damages beyond overbilling as a consequence of an automatic bill payment/bank overdraft charge, you must include those damages on your Claim Form.

Based on your Claim Form, the LADWP will determine the amount you are owed. To dispute that amount, you must request Special Master review. If you dispute the Special Master’s decision, you can appeal to the Court.

Omnibus: This group includes all LADWP customers that were not otherwise identified as members of one of the Subclasses listed above but believe that they were: (i) incorrectly assessed a charge associated with their power, water, sewage or sanitation services at any time from September 3, 2013 to December 30, 2016, that is not covered by any of the Subclasses listed herein; or (ii) otherwise damaged as a result from their participation in the LADWP’s solar incentive program at any time from February 13, 2010 to December 30, 2016.

If you are part of this group that means that the LADWP has not been able to identify you as a member of one of the Subclasses listed above. The letter included with this Class Notice informs you that you may, however, still submit a Claim Form, which is included with this Class Notice.

Based on your Claim Form, the LADWP will determine the amount you are owed. To dispute that amount, you must request Special Master review. If you dispute the Special Master’s decision, you can appeal to the Court.

If you are a Field Work Customer, there is a pending field work investigation that requires further investigation of property conditions that might have caused you to be overcharged or to have experienced other billing errors or monetary damages. Once the field work investigation has been completed, the LADWP will inform you, by letter, of its determination in connection with this field work investigation.

If you are a Field Work Customer, you must submit a Claim Form after receiving the letter informing you of the LADWP’s determination. Based on your Claim Form, the LADWP will determine the amount you are owed. To dispute that amount, you must request Special Master review. If you dispute the Special Master’s decision, you can appeal to the Court.

Non-Monetary Relief

The Settlement also provides non-monetary remedial relief including: (i) the creation and adoption of certain billing system metrics; (ii) the appointment of an independent billing system monitoring expert; (iii) audits of LADWP’s billing system to confirm billing accuracy; (iv) the creation and implementation of a team at LADWP to address unique or complex billing issues; (v) the adoption of an amendment to the Rules Governing Water and Electric Service to provide for a shorter period of time for which LADWP may collect payment from customers whose bills are delayed due to billing errors; (vi) the creation and implementation of an information technology Project Management Office; and (vii) a payment arrangement for back-billed customers allowing for up to 4 years to pay back the back-billed amount without penalty or interest, in equal monthly installments, provided you remain current on your most recent bill. If you are already on a payment plan, the plan may be extended by one year.

Proof of Purchase

Yes

Case Name

Jones v. City of Los Angeles,
Case No. BC577267
Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Central District

Case Summary

The lawsuit alleges that there was customer overbilling and other billing errors by the LADWP caused by, and are related to, the defective implementation of the LADWP’s new Customer Care and Billing system (the “CC&B System”) and damages incurred by customers arising from their participation in the LADWP’s solar incentive program. Plaintiff’s claims include, among others, claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the California Unfair Competition Law.

Settlement Pool

$44,700,000

Deadline

6/5/2017

Note that many class members will not need to submit a claim as they have been pre-identified by the class action administrator

Contact



LADWP Billing Settlement

Claims Administrator

P.O. Box 43449

Providence, RI 02940-3449

info@ladwpbillingsettlement.com

1-844-899-6219