Long Beach, California Telephone Tax Class Action Settlement

UPDATE: On Dec. 4, 2020, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail worth up to $92 from the Long Beach, California telephone class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who filed a valid claim and got PAID!

The City of Long Beach has agreed to pay $16.6 million in refunds of telephone taxes collected between Aug. 11, 2005 and Dec. 19, 2008 to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it incorrectly assessed and collected taxes during that time.

Plaintiffs alleged in their class action lawsuit that the City of Long Beach in California collected a five percent tax on phone services used by city residents; however, the ordinance the tax was collected under expressly excluded phone services not taxable under the Federal Excise Tax, said the plaintiffs, including teletypewriter exchange services, local telephone services, and toll phone services where call are charged according to time and distance, and “Wide Area Telephone Service.”

The City of Long Beach class action lawsuit alleged that these types of phone services do not include most modern phone services and in 2006 the IRS stopped collecting the Federal Excise Tax on phone services, except for local-only services. The City, alleged the class action lawsuit, continued to require the tax, however.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the City of Long Beach denies any wrongdoing, but will pay Class Members either a standard award (Standard Refund Claims) or a full refund (Actual Amount Refund Claims) with proof of taxes paid.

The deadline to object to the class action settlement is Sept. 28, 2018.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members include all persons as well as corporate and non-corporate entities who paid telephone utility user taxes to the City of Long Beach for residential landline service, business landline service and mobile telephone service utilized between Aug. 11, 2005 and Dec. 19, 2008.

Class Members do not include those who paid for purely local service, teletypewriter exchange service, or long distance telephone service where the charge varied by both time and distance, as well as some prepaid wireless customers.

NOTE: If you qualify for this settlement, you may be owed money from the Los Angeles County telephone tax class action settlement as well. File a claim for that settlement by clicking here. 

Potential Award

$27.50 to $46 for those who make Standard Refund Claims.

Those who make Actual Amount Refund Claims can receive an award based on the actual amount they paid.

Proof of Purchase

None for Standard Refund Claims.

Actual Amount Refund Claims require documentation of at least 10 past or recent phone bills.

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

9/15/2018

Case Name

McWilliams v. City of Long Beach, Case No. BC361469, in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Los Angeles

Final Hearing

10/29/2018

Settlement Website

www.LBTaxRefund.com

Claims Administrator

McWilliams v. City of Long Beach
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91304
Seattle, WA 98111
833-380-5573
info@LBTaxRefund.com

Class Counsel

Daniel Krasner
Rachele R. Rickert
Marisa C. Livesay
WOLF HALDENSTEIN ALDER FREEMAN & HERZ LLP

Jonathan W. Cuneo
CUNEO GILBERT & LADUCA LLP

Nicholas E. Chimicles
Timothy N. Mathews
CHIMICLES & TIKELLIS LLP

Jon Tostrud
TOSTRUD LAW GROUP PC

Defense Counsel

COLANTUONO HIGHSMITH & WHATLEY PC