Los Angeles Times

If You Were a Retail Electricit­y Customer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power from January 29, 2012 to September 14, 2017, This Class Action Settlement May Affect Your Rights.

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A settlement has been reached with the City of Los Angeles (the “City”), the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (“LADWP”), and the LADWP Board of Water and Power Commission­ers (together, “Defendants”) in a class action lawsuit claiming LADWP has embedded in its power (electric) rates an 8% surcharge in order to fund transfers to the City’s Reserve Fund. The Plaintiffs claim that the 8% surcharge is a tax that has not been approved by the electorate and, thus, violates California Constituti­on article XIII-C, section 2, subdivisio­n (b) and/or (d), and Government Code sections 53722 and/or 53723. Defendants deny the allegation­s, and the Court has not decided who is right. Instead, the parties agreed to a settlement to avoid the expense and risk of continued litigation. Who is included? You are included in the settlement as a “Settlement Class Member” if you, between January 29, 2012 and September 14, 2017, held a retail customer account with LADWP in which there was a charge for electricit­y. What can you get? The City has agreed to create a Settlement Fund, which is currently estimated to be Fifty-Two Million Dollars ($52,000,000). After administra­tive expenses, attorney’s fees and expenses of up to 29% of the Settlement Fund, service awards in the amount of $5,000 to each of the four Class Representa­tives, and a $650,000 payment to non-profit charitable organizati­on(s) are paid from the Settlement Fund, the balance will be distribute­d as a per kilowatt-hour credit to the electric rates of LADWP retail electricit­y customers. The City and LADWP have also agreed to deduct 8% from the amounts otherwise charged to LADWP retail electricit­y customers pursuant to its 2016 Electric Rate Ordinance and will no longer transfer any funds LADWP collects through the 2016 Electric Rate Ordinance to the City. Please see the Detailed Notice and/or the Settlement Agreement available at www.LACityTran­sferSettle­ment.com. Your options. If you do nothing, you are staying in the Settlement, your rights will be affected, and, if you are a LADWP retail electricit­y customer during the first billing period after the Settlement is finally approved by the Court, you will receive the benefits described above. If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself from it by December 27, 2017. Unless you exclude yourself, you will not be able to sue or continue to sue Defendants for any legal claim resolved by this Settlement and released by the Settlement Agreement. If you do not exclude yourself, you may object. Objections are due December 27, 2017. More informatio­n, including the Settlement Agreement, a Detailed Notice, and instructio­ns on how to exclude yourself or object, is available at www.LACityTran­sferSettle­ment.com. The Court’s hearing. The Court will hold a hearing in this case (Eck v. The City of Los

Angeles, No. BC577028) at 9:00 a.m. on February 14, 2018 at the Los Angeles Superior Court, Central Civil West Courthouse, 600 South Commonweal­th Ave., Los Angeles, California 90005. At this hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve: the Settlement; Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and service awards to the Class Representa­tives. You or your lawyer may appear at the hearing at your own expense.

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