Seattle City Light Inaccurate Billing $3.5M Class Action Settlement

UPDATE:

• The Court granted final approval to this settlement April 15, 2022.
• Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Seattle City Light will pay $3.5 million to resolve class action lawsuit claims it violated Washington consumer protection laws with inaccurate electricity bills.

The settlement benefits Seattle City Light residential customers who received one or more estimated electricity usage bills followed by an actual usage bill between Aug. 21, 2015, and June 8, 2020. 

Seattle City Light is a public utility providing electricity to residents of the Emerald City. According to the city’s website, Seattle City Light focuses on generating and providing clean and affordable energy to its customers. 

Although the utility claims to save its customers $8 million per year, Seattle City Light customers may have been overbilled for their electricity service.

The Seattle electricity class action lawsuit claims Seattle City Light bills its customers based on estimated electricity usage instead of actual electricity usage. Unfortunately, these estimates were often inaccurate and overcharged customers by hundreds or thousands of dollars, according to the plaintiffs.

The class action lawsuit contends this unlawful billing scheme is tied to a 2016 attempt by Seattle City Light to transition to digital meters and a new software system. 

This technology allegedly failed to work as expected and resulted in accurate electricity usage readings. As a result, Seattle City Light allegedly decided to estimate meter reads instead of relying on potentially false readings.

Seattle City Light hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to resolve these claims with a $3.5 million settlement.

Class Members will be able to receive payments from one of two settlement funds: the True Up Fund or the Elevated Bill Fund. 

The True Up Fund, equalling 25 percent of the net settlement fund, benefits customers who received an estimated bill followed by an actual usage bill. 

The Elevated Bill Fund, equalling 75 percent of the net settlement fund, benefits consumers whose bill was based on an average kilowatt usage per day that was 400 percent or more than their average daily kilowatt usage for a comparable month.

Cash payments from the settlement will vary depending on the amount overpaid by each customer. Payments from each fund are distributed on a pro rata basis, meaning the payments will decrease proportionally based on the number of claims filed. 

Due to these factors, there are no current payment estimates.

Current Seattle City Light customers will receive their payments in the form of a bill credit. Former Seattle City Light customers will receive their payments in the form of a check.

The settlement also includes non-monetary relief, including billing correction write offs, payment arrangements, a formal investigative process for disputes, and other customer service benefits.

The deadline for exclusion and objection is Feb. 28, 2022. 

The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for April 15, 2022.

In order to receive payments from the settlement, Class Members must submit a valid claim form by Feb. 28, 2022.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement benefits Seattle City Light residential customers who received one or more estimated electricity usage bills followed by an actual usage bill between Aug. 21, 2015, and June 8, 2020.

Potential Award

TBD

Proof of Purchase

Seattle City Light Account ID

Claim Form

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

02/28/2022

Case Name

Deien v. Seattle City Light, Case No. 19-2-21999-8 SEA, in the Superior Court of King County for the State of Washington

Final Hearing

04/15/2022

Settlement Website

SCLBillingSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

SCL Billing Settlement Administrator
c/o Postlethwaite & Netterville
P.O. Box 1029
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
844-633-0260

Class Counsel

Beth E. Terrell
Ari Brown
Blythe H. Chandler
TERRELL MARSHALL LAW GROUP PLLC

Defense Counsel

Aravind Swaminathan
Nicole Tadano
ORRICK HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP