By Eric Curl
Sept. 22, 2023 – Hundreds of property owners could be getting a refund after the city of Savannah settled a lawsuit challenging utility connection fees charged to commercial and residential property owners.
On Sept. 15, Chatham County Superior Court judge Lisa Colbert approved the $3.5 million settlement reached by the city and VTAL Real Estate. The corporation’s 2021 lawsuit alleged that the city charged Von Trapp Animal Lodge “illegal” tap-in fees for water and sewer service even though the business was already connected to the city’s service lines. The class action included similar allegations for “numerous” unnamed property owners that had paid similar fees.
The approval of the settlement means other class members lose the right to sue the city for the same reason. The court-appointed case administrator Terry Turner, Jr., Gentle Turner & Benson, will next determine who, in addition to VTAL, will get a refund and the amount of the refund based on a court-approved tiered structure over the next nine months.
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With the lawsuit, VTAL had sought a refund for about $2,300 in fees paid by the animal lodge in 2021, along with interest and reimbursement of attorney’s fees and costs. In addition the suit sought refunds for similar payments made by potential class action members since July 30, 2016.
As ordered by the court, the city created a web page over the summer to notify potential class members of the proposed settlement. In addition, a notice of the proposed settlement was published in the Savannah Morning News and mailed out to potential class members starting in July. More than 900 potential class members were mailed notices of the proposed settlement over the summer and no objections to the agreement were submitted by the Aug. 28 deadline, according to court documents.
Each qualified class member will receive his or her pro-rata share of his or her calculated tax refund up to 100% of the total refund due from the settlement fund. In addition, more than $1.4 million of the settlement fund will go towards attorneys fees and expenses. VTAL will also be awarded an additional $87,500 service payment in recognition of its efforts as the named plaintiff.
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VTAL originally sought $14 million prior to the reduced settlement amount being approved by the Savannah City Council in December after more than a year of discovery and “intense” discussions, according to information provided by city spokesperson Nick Zoller in February. City staff made the decision in mid-2022 to stop collecting the fees in similar circumstances, when there was no need to establish a new water and sewer connection, but no changes had been made to the city’s ordinance in response to the lawsuit, Zoller said at the time.
On Thursday, the city issued a statement that said its tap-in fee ordinance will be re-evaluated upon the termination of the litigation.
“Due to the ongoing lawsuit, no further comment would be appropriate at this time,” the statement said.
VTAL’s attorney, James Roberts, IV, did not immediately respond to requests for comment made Monday. The animal lodge also did not immediately respond to a request for comment made Wednesday.
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