LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — A Los Angeles court has approved a $92.5 million class action settlement for refunds of telephone taxes collected by the City of Los Angeles from October 19, 2005 through March 15, 2008.

All individuals and businesses that paid for landline telephone service with a service address in the City of Los Angeles, or mobile service where the billing address was in the City of Los Angeles, and who paid telephone tax on services utilized between October 19, 2005 through March 15, 2008 are eligible to claim a refund.  THE DEADLINE TO FILE A REFUND CLAIM IS FEBRUARY 20, 2016. Claims for telephone tax refunds can be submitted online, at www.LATaxRefund.com, or through the mail at Ardon v. City of Los Angeles, Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 30196, College Station, TX 77842-3196. A notice and claim form will also be mailed to current addresses in the City of Los Angeles.  

Eligible class members can claim standard refunds of $30 for residential landline service, $50 for business landline service, and $50 for mobile service. Businesses must have been registered with the City during the October 2005 to March 2008 time period can claim the standard business landline refund amount.  Class members may claim refunds for both landline and mobile telephone taxes.  There is no requirement to submit copies of phone bills to claim the standard amounts.  

Class members can also claim a refund based upon the actual amount of telephone tax they paid by submitting copies of their phone bills or other proof of the amount of tax paid to the City of Los Angeles for telephone services utilized during the October 19, 2005 through March 15, 2008 time period.

The lawsuit, Ardon v. City of Los Angeles, was brought on behalf of Los Angeles taxpayers by the law offices of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca, LLP, and Tostrud Law Group, PC.  The City of Los Angeles disputes the claims made in the lawsuit, but believes it is in the best interest of its residents to settle the matter rather than incur further litigation expenses.  

For additional information, claim forms and detailed instructions on how to make a claim, go to LATaxRefund.com or call (888) 643-6490. Information is also available at www.whafh.com, www.chimicles.com, and www.lacity.org.