CHICAGO, July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ —

LEGAL NOTICE

Persons and entities who have paid an increased monthly surcharge for electric service in Ohio pursuant to HB 6.

A class action lawsuit may affect your rights.

A court authorized this notice.  This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

A class action lawsuit styled Smith v. FirstEnergy Corp., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-3755, is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (the “Court”), and a similar lawsuit styled Emmons v. FirstEnergy Corp., et al., Case No. CV-20 935557, is pending in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated (the “Plaintiffs”), claim, among other matters, that some or all of Defendants FirstEnergy Corp., FirstEnergy Service Company, Ohio Edison Company (“Ohio Edison”), Toledo Edison Company (“Toledo Edison”), The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (“Cleveland Electric”), Charles E. Jones, James F. Pearson, Steven E. Strah, K. Jon Taylor, Michael J. Dowling (“FirstEnergy Settling Parties”), and Energy Harbor Corp., f/k/a FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. (“Energy Harbor”) engaged in a racketeering scheme to pay more than $61 million in bribes in order to influence and obtain the votes to pass House Bill 6 (“HB 6”), which caused some Ohio residents to pay excessive charges for electricity.  Defendants deny any wrongdoing.

Plaintiffs reached a settlement with the FirstEnergy Settling Parties on April 11, 2022, and with Energy Harbor on June 7, 2022 (collectively, the “Settlement”).  The Settlement is on behalf of a Settlement Class and includes a monetary payment of $49,000,000 (the “Settlement Funds”).  Members of the Settlement Class have the right to request exclusion from and give up all rights to receive a payment from the Settlement.

You may be a member of the Settlement Class if you paid to Toledo Edison, Cleveland Electric, or Ohio Edison any rates, charges, fees, tolls, or other costs pursuant to HB 6 or any recovery mechanism approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) pursuant to HB 6 from January 1, 2020 through June 22, 2022.

If you do nothing, you will be bound by the Court’s decisions concerning the Settlement with the FirstEnergy Settling Parties, and you will be able to share in the benefits provided in the Settlement.  You will be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court, and you will give up the right to sue the FirstEnergy Settling Parties as part of any other lawsuit for the claims and factual allegations that were or could have been raised in this case. 

If you want to keep your right to sue one or more of the FirstEnergy Settling Parties regarding the claims in this case, you must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class in writing by October 5, 2022. Additional information on how to request exclusion is available on the case website at www.OhioElectricityLitigation.com.

You do not need to do anything to receive your share of the Settlement Funds. Your money will be sent to you automatically if the Court approves the Settlement unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you have any questions or want to review documents that have been filed in this case, including the detailed Notice that describes how to request exclusion, object to the Settlement, or receive payment, and provides information regarding the Fairness Hearing, you may visit www.OhioElectricityLitigation.com. All dates are subject to change, and current dates are available on the website.

SOURCE Miller Law LLC, Murray & Murray Co., L.P.A., and McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC