Judge grants preliminary approval to Scranton trash fee lawsuit settlement
Apr. 21—SCRANTON — Lackawanna County Judge James Gibbons on Friday preliminarily approved a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that will provide partial refunds of garbage fees to city residents who joined in the case.
The settlement, reached earlier this month, resolves a 2016 lawsuit Adam Guiffrida filed that challenged the city's $300 annual garbage fee.
Under the deal, the city will deposit $405,000 into the settlement fund, with $385,000 earmarked for refunds and $20,000 to offset the cost to administer the fund and notify affected parties.
The 5,914 residents who opted into the suit would be due a gross refund of about $17 for each property they paid fees for from 2014 to 2018, for a total of about $68 if the fees were paid each year, said Moosic attorney Paul Batyko, who along with Philadelphia attorney Patrick Howard represented the plaintiffs.
The net refund is not known because each refund will be reduced by a pro rata share of attorney's fees and costs, Batyko said. Attorneys have requested $115,500 in fees, but the request has not been approved, Batyko said. The exact cost to administer the fund also is not known.
The settlement is one of two the city reached regarding trash fees. It also agreed to a $10 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by Mark Schraner and Mari Carr. That deal calls for the city to pay $2.5 million to refund about 70% of the penalties, interest and costs charged to residents who paid on delinquent refuse accounts between between Sept. 12, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2020.
The Schraner/Carr deal also calls for the city to forgive an estimated $7.5 million in penalties, interest and costs tacked onto municipal liens filed against property owners who were charged but never paid delinquencies accrued between Sept. 12, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2020.
The Guiffrida lawsuit alleged the city's garbage fee was arbitrarily set and improperly generated more money than is required to provide garbage collection services. The city maintained the fee does not cover all costs involved, including salaries, benefits and landfill tipping fees.
The Guiffrida settlement does not call for a reduction in the fee, but Howard noted the city began offering a 10% discount in 2018 if the bill is paid in full by the due date.
At Friday's hearing, Howard said he believes the settlement is fair. He noted that had the plaintiffs taken the case to trial and prevailed they would not recover any money because the court was tasked only with deciding if the city violated its ordinance. To recover money, Howard said the plaintiffs would have to present evidence at a separate hearing to prove the fee exceeded the cost to provide the service.
"If it turned out we were wrong this whole time, no one would have gotten anything," he said.
The city's attorney, Colin Dougherty, who attended the hearing via phone, agreed the deal fairly resolves the dispute.
Gibbons approved the proposal, but the ruling is not final. The parties will now send out notices to affected property owners, who will have a chance to opt out or object to the terms of the deal.
Gibbons directed attorneys to mail out notices by May 22. Anyone who wishes to object or opt out must do so by July 7. A final hearing to approve the deal, as well as the separate settlement in the Schraner/Carr case, is scheduled for Aug. 24.
Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9137; @tmbeseckerTT on Twitter.
