2 Residents Sue City Over Sewage Rates

Two North Hollywood residents have filed a class-action suit against the city of Los Angeles contending that its sewage rate system unfairly overcharges many city residents.

In the suit, plaintiffs Ivan Shinkle and Barbara Crawford urge a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to halt the city from using the current sewage rate system.

The suit alleges that city residents have been overcharged by $52 million to $65 million in sewer fees. It demands that the money be returned, either in cash or credits toward future fees. “What would happen is that it would all go back to everyone who overpaid,” said Richard Fine, the attorney for Shinkle and Crawford.

But the suit may soon be moot. The City Council is scheduled next month to consider adopting a new sewage rate system, due in part to complaints from San Fernando Valley residents.

Since most homes don’t have meters to measure the amount of sewage each home generates, the city calculates its sewage fees based on the assumption that about 60% of the water that goes to a home leaves via the sewage system.

But Valley residents have argued that the assumption is inaccurate because most of their water is used to irrigate large lots and landscaping and does not end up in the sewers. The suit makes the same argument.

In response to the Valley complaints, Councilwoman Laura Chick and city engineers have proposed an alternative sewage rate system that calculates the sewage fee based on the amount of water used during rainy winter months when very little water is used on irrigation.

Chick said she is not surprised that a lawsuit has challenged the sewer rate system. “To me, this has been a lawsuit waiting to happen,” she said. “It’s been reiterated many times by residents that this is an unfair rate system.”

Fine said that he would consider dropping part of his suit if a fair fee system were adopted. But he said he would still seek compensation for those who have been overcharged.

A spokesman for the city attorney’s office declined to comment on the matter, saying he had not seen the suit.