New York Ambit Energy Rate Class Action Settlement

Ambit Energy has agreed to pay $26.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the company overcharged New York customers for gas and electricity by rolling them off a Guaranteed Savings Plan onto Ambit’s New York Select Variable Plan without proper authorization.

The Ambit Energy fraud lawsuit also alleged that Ambit did not provide the full amount of savings represented under its Guaranteed Savings Plan.

Class Members include those who received services in the State of New York who were enrolled as a customer of Ambit and were on any of Ambit’s Guaranteed Savings Plans at any time during the period Sept. 5, 2010 through and including Feb. 22, 2018.

According to the Ambit Energy fraud class action lawsuit, Ambit Energy represented to customers in 2010 that those who switched to their service would see a guaranteed savings of at least one percent or Ambit would make up the difference.

The plaintiffs alleged that the company neglected to mention that the one percent savings would be held by the company. Additionally, the Ambit Energy fraud class action lawsuit claims that Ambit made matters worse by defaulting customers to a more expensive plan in 2012 in violation of New York law.

Ambit denies the claims in the Ambit Energy fraud class action lawsuit but agreed to a settlement to avoid the burden, risk, expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation. The company has agreed to pay $26.5 million to settle the Ambit Energy fraud class action lawsuit.

“The parties to this Settlement Agreement, after having (i) litigated the Plaintiffs’ claims for over four years; (ii) engaged in substantial discovery, including written discovery, the production of more than 79,000 pages of documents by Defendants and numerous interviews with Plaintiffs, Class Members, and potential witnesses,” the Ambit class action settlement states.

Ambit Energy also recently agreed to settle a similar class action lawsuit with its customers in Pennsylvania who were enrolled in the Select Variable Plan between Jan. 1, 2011 and Feb. 22, 2018.

In this Ambit Energy class action, Ambit pay $9.3 million to settle claims that the company engaged in bait-and-switch scheme with Pennsylvania consumers. 

The Pennsylvania Ambit Energy class action claims the energy provider offered “teaser rates” to get customers to switch to their service, only to charge them double the following month.

Ambit Energy denied all the allegations and claimed that the rate increase occurred not as a bait-and-switch scheme, but because the state was experiencing record winter low temperatures.

“Defendant has offered compensation of 15% or 2% of all fees paid by the putative Class members, depending on when their respective contractual obligations began,” the judge noted on the Pennsylvania Ambit Energy class action settlement approval memorandum.

The New York Ambit Energy fraud class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Feb. 22, 2018.

Class Members who want to opt out of or object to the Ambit Energy fraud settlement must do so no later than May 18, 2018.

UPDATE: On Jan. 28, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers who filed a valid claim for the N.Y. Ambit Energy rate class action settlement started receiving checks for more than $2,000 in the mail. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!

Who’s Eligible

“Class Members who may be entitled to receive a cash payment under the settlement include persons who received services in the State of New York who were enrolled as a customer of Ambit and were on any of Ambit’s Guaranteed Savings Plans at any time during the period September 5, 2010 through and including February 22, 2018.”

Potential Award

Varies.

Each claim will depend on the time of enrollment with Ambit, duration, usage, charges, how many customers submit claims, the amount of settlement administration costs, and attorneys’ fees and expenses approved by the Court.

“By way of example, if you were enrolled as an Ambit customer on the Guaranteed Savings Plan on January 1, 2011, and were rolled to the New York Select Variable Plan on January 1, 2012, and paid Ambit $200 dollars more while on the New York Select Variable Plan than you would have paid if on the Guaranteed Savings Plan during that same time period, your claim will be calculated as: $200 x .775 = $155.”

Proof of Purchase

No proof of purchase is necessary, but Class Members will either have to provide a code included in their Notice or the Ambit Energy account holder’s name and address.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

6/18/2018

Case Name

Simmons, et al. v. Ambit Energy Holdings LLC, et al., Case No. 503285/2015, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County

Final Hearing

6/27/2018

UPDATE: The New York Ambit Energy Rate Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on June 28, 2018.  Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Settlement Website

www.NYEnergySavingsSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Ambit Energy / New York Litigation
c/o Angeion Group
1801 Market Street, Suite 660
Philadelphia, PA 19103
1-877-445-0262
questions@NYEnergySavingsSettlement.com

Class Counsel

Steven L. Wittels
J. Burkett McInturff
Tiasha Palikovic
WITTELS LAW PC

Jeffrey A. Klafter
Seth R. Lesser
Fran L. Rudich
KLAFTER OLSEN & LESSER LLP

Defense Counsel

Nicole L. Williams
THOMPASON & KNIGHT LLP