The City of Seattle Settles a Class Action Lawsuit Over Improper Electrical Billing for $3.5 Million
The City of Seattle has reached a $3.5 million settlement agreement in an August 2019 lawsuit that claimed Seattle City Light improperly billed some of its customers based upon an estimated usage of electricity. A motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement was filed with King County Superior Court Judge Kristin Richardson today, and will require the judge’s approval for the settlement to take effect.
The settlement, after certain costs and plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees, will be divided into two funds for qualifying residential City Light customers (class members) who received one or more estimated bills followed by a bill based on actual usage between Aug. 21, 2015 and June 8, 2020. City Light estimates the potential class could include around 300,000 residential accounts; the amount each customer may receive is dependent upon the number of qualifying claims made. As part of the settlement agreement, neither party admits liability and any class member may opt out of the agreement by timely mailing an opt out request.
