ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <title>Oronoz v. County Of Los Angeles</title> <link href="cStyles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <style type="text/css"> <!-- .style1 {color: #FFFFFF} --> </style> </head> <body> <table border="1" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-color: Black; width: 100%"> <tr> <td align="center" class="BannerTitle1" style="height: 50px"> Oronoz v. County of Los Angeles </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td class="menutable"> <table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="menu"> <tr> <td align="center" style="background-color: lightgrey"> <a href="index.htm" class="link2">Home</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="faq.htm" class="link2">Frequently Asked Questions</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="notice.htm" class="link2">Notice of Settlement and Class Certification</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="NotificacióndeAcuerdo.htm" class="link2">Notificación de Acuerdo y Certificación de Clase haga</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="claimform.htm" class="link2">Claim Form</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="courtdocs.htm" class="link2">Court Documents</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="exclusion.htm" class="link2">Exclusion Request Form</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="rescission.htm" class="link2">Rescission of Exclusion Request Form</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="map.htm" class="link2">Map and Locations of Unincorporated Areas of Los Angeles</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="contact.htm" class="link2">Contact Information</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="deceasedDeclaration.htm" class="link2">Deceased Declaration</a></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td align="center" style="width: 801px; text-align: justify; height: 500px"> <table align="center" class="text1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" border="1"> <tr> <td align="center"> <p style="color: Red; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16pt;"> Status Update <br /> As of February 24, 2011</p> <p style="text-align: justify"> ONLY RESIDENTS OR BUSINESSES OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY WHO PAID<strong> LOS ANGELES COUNTY</strong> UUT ARE POTENTIALLY ENTITLED TO A REFUND BASED ON THIS LAWSUIT AND SUBSEQUENT SETTLEMENT. IF YOU DID NOT PAY <strong>COUNTY</strong> UUT, YOUR CLAIM WILL BE DENIED AS YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A REFUND AND ARE NOT A MEMBER OF THIS CLASS. The fact that your current or past bill references "UUT" does not mean that you paid <strong>COUNTY</strong> UUT. Most cities, including Los Angeles, charge a UUT that is different from the County UUT, and residents of those cities are NOT ENTITLED TO A REFUND PURSUANT TO THIS SETTLEMENT. The Claims Administrator and Counsel have received inquiries from a number of claimants who received letters rejecting their claims. The vast majority of claims were rejected because, on further analysis, the claimant paid City UUT not County UUT. Below is a chart explaining recent inquiries and the Claims Administrator's response. </p> <br /> <table align="center" class="text1" border="1" cellpadding="1" > <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> <b> DENIAL LETTER RESPONSES</b> </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> <b>RESEARCH</b> </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> <b>CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSE</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant said they paid the UUT, would like their refund </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> In response to Denial letter, claimant submitted bills showing  City UUT </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> Only residents or businesses that paid <em><b>County UUT</b></em> are entitled to a refund. Because claimant paid City UUT, not County UUT, claimant is not entitled to a refund pursuant to this settlement. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant would like to know why we haven t mailed check to their new address </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> Address is correct in database, utilities found no UUT and none in documentation submitted in response to deficiency letter. </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> Because documentation did not show payment of County UUT, claimant is not entitled to a refund pursuant to this settlement. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> As a result of Deficiency letter response, claimant received a check for one month of UUT, but would like a refund for the other months of the class period </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> Deficiency letter response contained proof of 1 month of valid UUT. In response to receiving a check for one month of UUT, claimant is now submitting proof of residency in the form of bank statements from one month of each year of class period </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant is entitled to the $150 one-time payment. The Claims Administrator will issue a refund check for $150 (minus whatever amount claimant has already received). </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant would like to know why they didn t receive refund money. </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> Deficiency letter response contained current bills showing account number, but outside of class period. No proof of residency submitted </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant failed to show proof of residency or payment of County UUT. Therefore, claimant is not entitled to a refund pursuant to the settlement. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant would like to know why they didn t receive refund money. Stated that they would seek legal help if they don t get refund </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> Deficiency letter response indicates UUT was for City of Paramount. </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> Only residents or businesses that paid <em><b>County UUT</b></em> are entitled to a refund. Because claimant paid City UUT, not County UUT, claimant is not entitled to a refund pursuant to this settlement. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 284px;" align="center" valign="top"> Claimant stated initial cure letter did not specify need for submission of hard copies of utility bills, would like account numbers sent to utilities </td> <td style="width: 157px;" align="center" valign="top"> In response to initial cure letter, claimant submitted 4 bills that contained account numbers, but none showed any UUT. </td> <td style="width: 158px;" align="center" valign="top"> Because documentation did not show payment of County UUT, claimant is not entitled to a refund pursuant to this settlement </td> </tr> </table> <p style="color: Red; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16pt;"> Status Update <br /> As of November 29, 2010</p> <p style="text-align: justify"> If you have submitted additional documentation in response to a Deficiency Letter that you have received please be aware that the claims administrator is still in the process of reviewing the documentation submitted and that refund checks and denial letters in response to those submissions will be mailed at one time. The claims administrator expects that those refund checks/denial letters will be mailed on or about February 4, 2011. <br /> <br /> If your mailing address has changed since filing your claim and you would like to notify the claims administrator, or if you need to send a request to change the name of a check recipient (e.g. because of a death of the claimant) the request must be submitted to the claims administrator and postmarked by December 31, 2010. The failure to provide such documentation by December 31, 2010 will result in the denial of the claim/request and the funds will be added to the cy pres fund to benefit the class members. </p> <br /> <p style="color: Red; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16pt;"> Status Update <br /> As of 8/25/10</p> <p style="text-align: justify"> ONLY RESIDENTS OR BUSINESSES OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY WHO PAID <b>LOS ANGELES COUNTY</b> UUT ARE POTENTIALLY ENTITLED TO A REFUND BASED ON THIS LAWSUIT AND SUBSEQUENT SETTLEMENT. IF YOU DID NOT PAY <b>COUNTY</b> UUT, YOUR CLAIM WILL BE DENIED AS YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A REFUND AND ARE NOT A MEMBER OF THIS CLASS. The fact that your current or past bill references "UUT" does not mean that you paid <b>COUNTY</b> UUT. Most cities, including Los Angeles charge a UUT that is different from the County UUT, and residents of those cities are NOT ENTITLED TO A REFUND PURSUANT TO THIS SETTLEMENT. If your claim with respect to all utilities was rejected, that is a likely indication that you did not pay the County UUT and, threfore, there were no tax payments for which you would be entitled to a refund. <br /> <br /> A number of claimants have reported difficulty obtaining prior utility bills from their providers. The Court has approved a procedure whereby if a claimant submits a past or current bill from a utility proving that the claimant paid County UUT AND THE CLAIMANT ESTABLISHES THAT THEY WERE A RESIDENT OF THAT SAME UNINCORPORATED COUNTY ADDRESS DURING THE YEARS IN QUESTION, the Claimant will receive a refund of $150 which will be an aggregate amount for all remaining potentially qualifying utilities. <b>This procedure will not affect any prior refunds you may have received.</b> However, each claimant shall only be entitled to <b>one</b> additional aggregate payment for all remaining utilities, and the claimant shall waive entitlement to any additional refunds (other than the single $150 payment) by pursuing this option. If the claimant can only establish residence at the same unincorporated County address during part (but not all) of the class period, they will receive a pro rata payment based on the years of residence. <br /> <br /> REJECTED CLAIMANTS: <br /> <br /> Please do the following if you intend to submit additional documentation to the Claims Administrator (any such documentation must be sent and post-marked by October 1, 2010 to be considered by the Claims Administrator): </p> <br /> <table cellpadding="8" class="text1" style="text-align: justify"> <tr valign="top"> <td> </td> <td> 1. </td> <td> <b>Verify that you are in fact a resident of the UNINCORPORATED LOS ANGELES COUNTY AND PAID THE <u>LOS ANGELES COUNTY UUT</u></b> (NOTE: the County UUT was assessed at 5% from 2004 through November 2008 and 4 ½% from November 2008 to present  if your bills do not reflect this rate it is likely that you did not and do not pay County UUT. If the bill states  City UUT or it identifies a specific City by name, you are not paying the County UUT; </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> </td> <td> 2. </td> <td> <b>Provide copies of your utility bills</b> proving that you paid County UUT for the years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> </td> <td> <b><u>OR</u></b> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> </td> <td> 3. </td> <td> <b>Provide a past or current utility bill</b> so that a determination can be made as to whether you paid County UUT. If you paid County UUT, you will receive a single refund of $150 (or a pro rata distribution if you cannot establish residence at the same unincorporated County address during the entire class period). If you choose this option, you will only receive the single payment and no calculation will be made as to your entitlement to additional payments. </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> </td> <td> <b><u>AND</u></b> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> <b>Provide proof of residency</b>. If you are submitting only a past or current utility bill (# 3, above), you must also submit proof that you were a resident of the unincorporated County for EACH of the years 2004 through 2008. Proof of residency must include any of the following: a bank statement containing the address (please redact account number information), property tax statement, utility bills showing the address or some other evidence demonstrating that you resided in the unincorporated area of the County. If you can only prove residence during part of the class period (February 2004 to November 2008), you will receive a pro rata refund for the period you resided in the unincorporated area. </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <p style="color: Red; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16pt;"> Status Update <br /> As of 7/28/10 </p> <p style="text-align: justify"> The Claims Administrator has processed a number of claims and has begun sending refund checks to class members for the UUT information that has been verified. Payments were determined using the various utility companies tax data. Claimants will be notified by mail if they listed utilities on their claim form(s) for which no tax data was recovered. If one or more of the Utilities specified on your claim form were rejected due to inaccurate or incomplete information, you also will be notified of this rejection by mail. Class members will have 45 days from the date of a rejection letter to amend their claim with more accurate/complete information. <br /> <br /> <b>IF YOU RECEIVED A CHECK ISSUED TO A DECEASED CLAIMANT OR TO HIS/HER ESTATE</b>, and you are the successor of the Decedent or the executor/administrator of the Decedent s estate, you may complete and submit a <a href="pdf's/BeneficiaryDeclarationAndReleaseForm.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Beneficiary Declaration and Release</b></a> form. The form can be obtained by clicking on the link or selecting the  Deceased Declaration option from the menu to the left. This form will indicate to the Claims Administrator that you are entitled to act on behalf of the Decedent or the estate, and that you are entitled to receive the sum due to Decedent pursuant to this Settlement. You will need to submit a certified copy of the Decedent s death certificate along with the completed Beneficiary Declaration and Release. Once the Claims Administrator has received and processed your Beneficiary Declaration and Release form, we can proceed to re-issue the check per your instructions. <br /> <br /> If you have contacted your utility company for documentation, and the utility company has indicated that more time will be needed to produce the information you requested, your deadline shall be extended by an additional 45 days (i.e., for a total of 90 days from the date of the letter). Such an extension will only be granted in cases where class members have been unable to timely procure documentation from their utility companies. If the documents are already in your possession, you must comply with the 45-day deadline. <br /> <br /> If any of the Utilities listed on your claim form are rejected, it does NOT impact any other Utilities listed because each Utility is being reviewed separately. You may receive payments for some Utilities, and/or a letter requesting more information for others. <br /> <br /> NOTE: UUT only applies to electricity, gas and telephone charges -- bills for other utilities (i.e. trash, cable, internet) are not subject to UUT and should not be resubmitted. <br /> <br /> UUT s that were paid to the City of Los Angeles or any taxing entity that is not the County of Los Angeles are not the subject of this lawsuit and are not a basis to receive refunds. <br /> <br /> If you have moved since you submitted your claim form, you should notify the Claims Administrator of your change of address by writing to: </p> <p style="text-align: center"> Oronoz v. County of Los Angeles Claims Administrator<br /> P.O. Box 9426<br /> Minneapolis, MN 55440-9426 </p> </td> </tr> </table> <p align="center" class="index"> If you paid bills for the use of telephone, electricity or gas in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County at any time since February 16, 2004, you could get a refund from a Class Action Settlement.</p> <p align="justify" class="text1"> The Settlement provides refunds, and other benefits, to individuals and businesses that paid the Los Angeles County Utility User Tax ("UUT") between February 16, 2004 and November 4, 2008. The UUT is collected from residents in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County in connection with their telephone, electricity and gas bills. <u>You may qualify if you:</u></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="text1">Paid bills for the use of telephone, electricity or gas in Los Angeles County at any time between February 16, 2004 and November 4, 2008, that included a UUT charge; and</li> <li class="text1">Submit a Claim Form authorizing your current and past utility providers to provide us with information necessary to determine your eligibility and the amount of refund to which you may be entitled.</li> </ul> <p align="center" class="text1"> <b>Your legal rights will be affected, and you have a choice to make now.<br /> This website explains your legal rights and options, and when you must act to exercise them.</b> </p> <p align="left" class="text1"> This website provides the following information:</p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="text1">Frequently Asked Questions <a href="faq.htm">click here</a></li> <li class="text1">Notice of Settlement and Class Certification <a href="notice.htm"> click here</a></li> <li class="text1">Notificación de Acuerdo y Certificación de Clase haga <a href="NotificacióndeAcuerdo.htm"> clic aquí</a></li> <li class="text1">Download a Claim Form the deadline has passed</li> <li class="text1">Court Documents <a href="courtdocs.htm">click here</a></li> <li class="text1">Exclusion Request Form - deadline for exclusion has passed</li> <li class="text1">Rescission of Exclusion Request Form Recission of Exclusion deadline has passed</li> <li class="text1">Map and Locations of Unincorporated Areas of Los Angeles <a href="map.htm"> click here</a></li> <li class="text1">Contact Information <a href="contact.htm">click here</a></li> </ul> <p align="center" class="text1"> <b><u>Important Deadlines:</u></b></p> <br /> <table align="center" class="text2" border="1" cellpadding="6"> <tr> <td style="width: 210px;" align="left"> SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM </td> <td style="width: 225px;" align="left"> April 14, 2009 Filing Deadline Has Passed </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 210px;" align="left"> EXCLUDE YOURSELF </td> <td style="width: 225px;" align="left"> February 20, 2009 Exclusion Deadline Has Passed </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 210px;" align="left"> OBJECT </td> <td style="width: 225px;" align="left"> February 20, 2009 Objection Deadline Has Passed </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 210px;" align="left"> GO TO A HEARING </td> <td style="width: 225px;" align="left"> Fairness Hearing was held on March 13, 2009 </td> </tr> </table> <br /> <p align="center" class="text1"> &nbsp;</p> <p align="center" class="text1"> For information call 1-866-783-5877 toll free</p> </td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>