Los Angeles Property Tax Refund & Interest Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

If You Received a Property Tax Refund from Los Angeles County at Any Time Since March 1, 1993, You Could Get a Refund from a Class Action Settlement.

A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit pending against The County of Los Angeles in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (styled Roger Bacon, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., Civil Action Case No. Case No. BS058574) alleging that the County of Los Angeles failed to pay interest on property tax refunds as required by law, owed pre-judgment interest on the interest which it failed to pay at the time of the refund, and was required to give notice to taxpayers of their right to claim a refund, according to the Los Angeles LA County Property Tax Refund Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Notice.

The Los Angeles property tax refund and interest class action settlement reportedly provides, among other things, that if the settlement is finally approved by the court, the County of Los Angeles will place up to $45 million in a common fund from which settlement Class Members may seek a refund.  Any unclaimed portion of the common settlement fund (after payments to settlement Class Members, enhancement awards to the named class representatives of up to $30,000 total, attorney’s fees and expenses of up to $12,500,000, the fees and costs of KPMG incurred in calculating the amount due to settlement Class Members of $1,301,940, and administrative costs, in an amount not to exceed $743,801) shall be returned to Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County property tax refund and interest settlement agreement reportedly provides that:

1. The County of Los Angeles will pay affected taxpayers the interest not paid to them at the time of their property tax refunds, and pre-judgment interest on these amounts, with such payments being made to any taxpayer who between March 1, 1993, to the present received a property tax refund which did not include the proper amount of interest, and who submits a Claim Form confirming that they are the owner of the property at the time the refund was issued; and
2. The County changes its practices, effective June of 2007, and begins
   calculating interest on refunds of personal property assessments from the date of the first installment of property taxes rather than the second
   installment.

The type of property tax refunds which are included in the Los Angeles property tax refund class action settlement are as follows:

• Refunds of property taxes which were due and payable prior to March 1, 1993, but which were refunded after April 6, 1995, and were not paid interest at nine percent but instead were paid interest at the lower County Pool Apportioned Rate;
• Property tax refunds of personal property assessments any time after April 6, 1995, to June 1, 2007, which included interest calculated from the second installment of the tax;
• Property tax refunds issued after April 6, 1995, which did not include any interest;
• Refunds of property taxes due and payable after March 1, 1993, but
  which were paid less than the County Pool Apportioned rate of interest on the refunds.

The Court is scheduled to hold a Fairness Hearing at 11:00 a.m. on October 19, 2010, in Department 324 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, located at 600 South Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90005 to consider, among other things, whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

For more information on the Los Angeles LA County Property Tax Refund class action lawsuit settlement and potential settlement benefits, and/or for updates on the settlement, visit the Los Angeles LA County Property Tax Refund class action settlement website:

www.losangelescountypropertytaxrefundsettlement.com

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