A judge has granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement involving the alleged improper fee charges levied by WCA Corporation. The plaintiffs who filed the class action lawsuit represent WCA Corporation customers that received solid waste disposal services. They assert that WCA Corporation fraudulently billed and collected “certain fees from them and many class members.” One of the most frequently billed and collected fees was an environmental fee. A fuel surcharge and energy recovery fee also appeared on many customer monthly statements.
The plaintiffs claim that by charging the fees, WCA violated the contract signed by most of the customers that pay the company for solid waste disposal services. Moreover, the plaintiffs insist the fees have no connection to any fuel or environmental costs that WCA Corporation has to pay. Class counsel has included language in the class action lawsuit that the fees were “nothing but unilateral profit enhancers, without any regard to the contractual relationship between the parties.”
WCA Waste Corporation has denied every one of the allegations listed in the class action lawsuit. The court has not issued a determination as to the extent of the legal liability placed on WCA Waste Corporation.
What You Need To Know
Class members have until May 30, 2017 to challenge any part of the settlement or opt out of the agreement. According to the class action settlement website www.WCASettlement.com, class members “include persons throughout the U.S. who, from Nov. 4, 2008 through April 17, 2017 and within the applicable statutory limitations period, paid one or more of the fees at issue to WCA or to one of its related companies.” The appropriate length of a statutory of limitation varies depending on individual state law. Class members who submit valid and timely claims can expect compensation calculated on a pro forma basis. The amount of payment depends on the number of valid claims filed by eligible class members.
Class members must mail a paper claim form or complete an online claim form to qualify for compensation. The estimated deadline for filing a claim form is August 27, 2017. Refer to the class action settlement website to learn the actual deadline. The claim form deadline will be set 75 days after the final approval order, which the court expects to issue at the final hearing scheduled for June 13, 2017.
The Hunters Run Apartments LTD, et al. v. WCA Waste Corp., et al., Case No. CV-2014-900806.00, in the Circuit Court for Jefferson County, Alabama class counsel includes Oscar M. Price, IV of the law firm Price Armstrong LLC. WCA Waste Corporation has hired Bryan O. Balogh of Burr & Forman as defense counsel.
