COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, CA TO PROVIDE $16.9 MILLION REFUND TO TELEPHONE TAXPAYERS IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS--Granados v. County of Los Angeles, No. BC361470

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LOS ANGELES, June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- JND Class Action Administration - A Los Angeles court has preliminarily approved a $16.9 million class action settlement for refunds of telephone taxes collected by the County of Los Angeles, California from August 25, 2005 through November 4, 2008.

All individuals and businesses that paid for landline telephone service with a service address within the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles, or mobile service where the billing address was within the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles, and who paid telephone tax on services utilized between August 25, 2005 through November 4, 2008, and haven't already received a refund of those taxes, are eligible to claim a refund.  THE DEADLINE TO FILE A REFUND CLAIM IS SEPTEMBER 15, 2018.  Claims for telephone tax refunds can be submitted online, at www.LACountyTaxRefund.com, or through the mail.  A notice and claim form will also be mailed to current addresses in the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles.  

Eligible class members have several options to file a claim, which include: (1) claim standard amounts of $27.50 for residential landline telephone service, $46.00 for business landline service, and/or $46.00 for mobile telephone service, with no documentary evidence required; (2) submit samples of bills reflecting the telephone user taxes ("TUT") paid during the class period to receive a refund of the actual TUT paid; or (3) if bills from the class period are not available, submit a sample of recent phone bills reflecting the TUT paid to the County to receive a refund based on recent TUT amounts.  In addition, class members who were customers of Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile during the August 25, 2005 to November 4, 2008 time period can provide consent for those carriers to search for TUT payment records. Class members may claim refunds for both landline and mobile telephone taxes.  

The County of Los Angeles has agreed to a maximum of $16.9 million.  Undistributed funds, after attorneys' fees and costs, plaintiff's incentive award, and notice and administration expenses are paid, will revert back to the County of Los Angeles.  For additional information, claim forms and detailed instructions on how to make a claim, go to www.LACountyTaxRefund.com or call (833) 807-3690.

The lawsuit, Granados v. County of Los Angeles, was brought on behalf of County of Los Angeles, CA taxpayers by the law offices of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, and Tostrud Law Group, PC.  The County of Los Angeles disputes the claims made in the lawsuit, but believes it is in the best interest of its residents to settle the matter rather than incur further litigation expenses. 

SOURCE Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, and Tostrud Law Group, PC