Superior Court Judge To Issue Ruling On Proposed Settlement For Overcharged LADWP Customers

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Superior Court judge is expected to decide whether to accept a proposed settlement Tuesday that would refund Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) customers who were over billed by the agency.

Thousands of LADWP customers were overcharged following a problem-filled upgrade of the agency's billing system.

Authorities explained payment amounts of the faulty bills were based on estimates rather than the actual use of water and electricity.

Attorney Jack Landskroner, who negotiated the settlement, argued the deal would "not only return 100 percent of the overcharges LADWP billed to customers," but the amounts would be "verified by an independent court-appointed monitor."

However, some attorneys said the settlement contains "fatal flaws" that would limit LADWP customers to challenge the refund amounts.

Consumer Watchdog advocates agreed with attorneys, saying the proposal would only allow for agency officials to decide how much to refund each customer.

If approved, the settlement would result in tens of millions of dollars in refunds to LADWP customers.

Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle is expected to issue a ruling on the proposed deal at 10 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)