If you paid a Utility Users Tax to the City of Palo Alto as part of your monthly phone bill, your rights may be affected by a class action lawsuit.
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Girardi Keese and Slovak, Baron, Empey, Murphy & Pinkney, LLP ("Class Counsel") announce the certification of a class action lawsuit claiming that the City of Palo Alto unlawfully added a Utility Users Tax ("UUT") to the monthly phone bills of City taxpayers. The lawsuit, Staats v. City of Palo Alto, Case No. 2015-1-cv-284956, is in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. There is no money available now and no guarantee that there will be.
Generally, you are a "Class Member" if you paid the City of Palo Alto UUT on flat-rate mobile or flat amount long distance landline telephone or per-minute mobile or long distance landline telephone services between August 1, 2006 and December 18, 2014. The Plaintiff, Eileen Staats, on behalf of herself and Class Members, claims that between August 1, 2006 and December 18, 2014, the City's UUT could not be legally applied to, and was unlawfully collected on, the four types of telephone service. The lawsuit seeks UUT refunds for Class members, and reasonable attorneys' fees, costs and expenses. The City denies any and all wrongdoing and denies that collecting the UUT is or has been unlawful. The Court has not ruled on the merits of the claims. The lawyers for the Class will have to prove their claims at a trial.
The Court has appointed Class Counsel to represent the Class in this case. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you do not want Class Counsel to represent you, you may hire your own lawyer at your expense.
You may choose to do nothing or exclude yourself from the Class. If you do nothing, you are choosing to stay in the Class. If you do not want to stay in the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion by sending a letter to the address below, postmarked by January 19, 2019. More information about the lawsuit and specific instructions about how to exclude yourself from the Class are available at www.UtilityUsersTaxClassAction.com.
For more information, including the full notice, go to www.UtilityUsersTaxClassAction.com, call 1-866-561-6117, or write to Staats v. City of Palo Alto Class Action Administrator, P.O. Box 505024, Louisville, KY 40233-5024.
SOURCE Girardi Keese and Slovak, Baron, Empey, Murphy & Pinkney, LLP
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