HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

Transcription

1 HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Fred Sanborn et al., and all others similarly situated v. Board of Education for the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District et al. Case No. A NOTICE OF (I) PROPOSED SETTLEMENT; (II) SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS FEES AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES TO: ALL PERSONS AND ENTITIES WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE CERTIFIED CLASS IN THIS ACTION. (See definition of the Class set forth in No. 3 below). NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT: You are receiving this notice ( Notice ) because you may be a member of the class in a class action lawsuit in which a settlement has been reached. In the above-captioned class action ( Action ) Plaintiffs Fred Sanborn, Ruth Hubbard, Mary Hunt Siegel and Richard Cocks and the members of the certified class (collectively, the Plaintiffs and/or the Class ) have reached a proposed settlement ( Settlement ) with Defendant Board of Education for the Indian Hill Exempted School District for $5,500,000 (five million five hundred thousand dollars) (the Settlement Amount ) in cash that, if approved, will resolve all claims in this Action. If you are in fact a member of the Class ( Class Member ) you would be entitled to receive benefits under a Class Action Settlement Agreement that was entered into on November 11, 2015 (which will be referred to in this document simply as the Settlement Agreement ). PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. This Notice explains important rights you may have, including the possible receipt of cash from the Settlement. If you are a Class Member (see Nos. 1 and 3 below), your legal rights will be affected whether or not you act. If you have any questions about this Notice, the proposed Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement, please DO NOT contact the Board of Education for the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District or its legal counsel. All questions should be directed to the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel (see Nos. 5 & 9 below). 1. History of the Action: In December 2009, the Board of Education for the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District ("Board of Education") passed a property tax budget for 2010, which included an increased rate of property taxes ("the tax"). In

2 April 2010, the Hamilton County Budget Commission ("the Budget Commission") held a hearing on the tax and found it to be a proper exercise of the Board of Education s statutory authority. Based on that ruling, the tax became effective in the 2010 tax year. Ultimately, the tax was collected for calendar years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 ("the relevant tax years"). On May 20, 2010, four individual taxpayers filed an appeal challenging the Budget Commission s approval of the Board s 2010 tax to the Board of Tax Appeals ( the BTA ). Then on January 6, 2012, this action was filed in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas ("the Court") by four individual taxpayers, the Plaintiffs, against the Board of Education, the County Treasurer, and the County Auditor and the Board, Case No. A In the Action, the Plaintiffs asked the Court to declare the tax illegal, to stop the continued collection of it, and to require the Board of Education to refund the amount of the tax the Plaintiffs and all other taxpayers had paid. On September 13, 2013, the BTA affirmed the Budget Commission, and the Plaintiffs filed a direct appeal to the Supreme Court of Ohio challenging the tax. On December 2, 2014, the Supreme Court reversed the BTA, finding the increased rate of taxation unlawful. In February 2015, in response to the Supreme Court s decision, the Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint seeking a refund of the tax collected for the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 tax years ("the relevant tax years") from the Plaintiffs and all other taxpayers. In July 2015, the Court certified the action as a class action. The Court defined the Class as including all Indian Hill School District real estate property taxpayers who paid the tax (see No. 3 below). On November 11, 2015, the Plaintiffs and the Board of Education entered into the Settlement Agreement, which must be approved by the Court before it can become effective. On November 12, 2015, the Court preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement, appointed a settlement administrator, and instructed the administrator to send this notice to the Class Members. On January 8, 2016, the Court will hold a hearing to decide whether or not to approve the Settlement Agreement. 2. Terms of the Settlement: The Settlement Agreement is conditioned on the Court approving its terms, including the terms providing for the Board of Education to pay the attorney fees and expenses of the lawyers who have represented the Plaintiffs and the Class Members. The total amount the Board of Education has agreed to pay under the Settlement Agreement is $5.5 million, which is approximately the full amount of refunds demanded by the Plaintiffs in the action. Of this amount, a total of $4.6 million would be available for pro rata distribution to the Class Members as a refund of the property taxes the Class Members paid for the relevant tax years, if the Court approves the Settlement Agreement. If the Court approves the Settlement Agreement, the court-appointed settlement administrator ( Settlement Administrator ), following such approval, would send a notice letter to all Class Members who can be located giving each of them the option either to accept a check for the Class Member s pro rata (or proportionate) share of the $4.6 million refund or to direct that the equivalent amount be donated to the Indian Hill Public Schools Foundation ( the Foundation ). Prior to sending this notice letter, the

3 administrator will calculate each Class Member s pro rata share of the $4.6 million. In each notice letter to each Class Member, the Settlement Administrator will specify that particular Class Member's pro rata share of the refund. In response to such notice letter, Class Members will be requested to indicate their decision whether to accept a check for their pro rata distribution or to donate the equivalent amount to the Foundation. The Settlement Agreement also provides for $900,000 of the total $5.5 million settlement amount to be allocated to cover (a) the attorney fees of the lawyers who have represented the Class in the action ("Class Counsel"), (b) incentive awards for the four class representatives, and (c) litigation expenses incurred by Class Counsel in the action. Class Counsel will apply for their attorney fees, for reimbursement of their litigation expenses, and for permission to pay incentive awards totaling $40,000 to the four class representatives. Incentive awards are payments that are intended to cover the time and money that the class representatives spent performing their responsibilities as the Plaintiffs and as the representatives of the Class. Although the amount of attorney fees that Class Counsel request will depend on the amount of their out-of-pocket litigation expenses, it is certain the fees will not exceed 15.7% of the total settlement amount of $5.5 million. In addition, the Board of Education has agreed to pay the reasonable costs of Settlement Administration, including the expenses incurred by the Settlement Administrator in sending this notice and in implementing the Class Members' individual decisions whether to accept their pro rata distribution or to donate the equivalent amount to the Foundation. 3. Class Definition: The proposed Settlement, if approved by the Court, will settle claims of the following Class Members: All Indian Hill School District real estate property tax payers who paid increased rates of taxation as a result of the Hamilton County Budget Commission s April 20, 2010 Approval of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District s December 15, 2009 Petition to Move 1.25 Mills Inside. PLEASE NOTE: Receipt of this Notice does not mean or guarantee that you are a Class Member or that you will be entitled to receive proceeds from the Settlement. 4. Identification of Court: The Court in charge of this Action is the Hamilton County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas, and the case is known as Sanborn v. Board of Education for the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Case No. A The Judge presiding over this Action is the Honorable Steven Martin, Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge.

4 5. Identification of Class Counsel: Plaintiffs and the Class are represented by the following attorneys as Class Counsel: Maurice A. Thompson, Esq Center for Constitutional Law, 208 E. State Street, Columbus, OH 43215; and, Christopher Finney, Esq. Finney Law Firm, LLC, 4279 Ivy Pointe Boulevard, Suite 2254, Cincinnati, OH 45245; and Paul M. De Marco, Esq. of Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC, 119 E. Court St., Suite 530, Cincinnati, OH Identification of the Settlement Administrator: The Court-approved Settlement Administrator in this Action is Harvey Rosen, Ph.D. Dr. Rosen is an economist with substantial experience administering class action settlements. He will issue notices and make distributions of Settlement proceeds to eligible Class Members. 7. Reasons for the Settlement: The Board of Education has agreed to pay the amount the Plaintiffs demanded in their Amended Complaint, which included an interest component, leaving no remaining issues to litigate. Plaintiffs principal reason for entering into the Settlement is the substantial cash benefit for the Class without the risk or delays inherent in further litigation, including any appeals. The Settlement was reached in this Action after intensive, arm s length negotiations between experienced attorneys who have extensive class action litigation experience and who have extensive knowledge of the legal and factual issues of this Action. 8. The Fairness Hearing on January 8, 2016: In addition to explaining the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits may be available to you under the Settlement, who is eligible for the benefits, and how you might be affected by the Settlement, this Notice is sent to inform you the Court will hold a hearing on final approval of the Settlement to consider the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the proposed Settlement, including Class Counsel s request for attorneys fee and litigation expenses (the Fairness Hearing ). The Fairness Hearing will be held on January 8, 2016, at 8:30 am in Room 340 of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 1000 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202, before the Honorable Steven Martin. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will determine: a) whether the proposed Settlement, including the Settlement Amount, is fair, reasonable, and adequate and should be approved by the Court; b) whether Class Counsel s request for an award of attorneys fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses should be approved by the Court; and, c) any other relief the Court deems necessary to effectuate the terms of the Settlement. This Notice does not express any opinion by the Court concerning the merits of any claim in the Action, and the Court still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, payments to eligible Class members will be made after any appeals are resolved, and after the completion of all claims processing.

5 YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THE SETTLEMENT: PARTICIPATION IN THE SETTLEMENT OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT BY SUBMITTING A WRITTEN OBJECTION SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 27, If the Settlement is approved, the Claims Administrator will send a notice letter to Class Members identifying the Class Member s pro rata share in the Settlement proceeds. In response to the Claims Administrator s notice letter, Class Members will be required to complete a form indicating their decision whether to accept a check for their pro rata distribution or to donate the equivalent amount to the Foundation. If you are a Class Member, you will be bound by the Settlement as approved by the Court and you will give up any legal claims you may have against the Board of Education for claims asserted in this Action, so it is in your interest to respond to the Claims Administrator s notice letter. If you object to the proposed Settlement, or the request for attorneys fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses, you may (but are not required to) write to the Court and explain why you object. You cannot object to the Settlement, or the fee and expense request unless you are a Class Member. If you seek to have the Court consider your objection, the objection to the Settlement: (a) must state the name, address and telephone number of the person or entity objecting and must be signed by the objector; (b) must contain a statement of the Class Member s objection or objections, and the specific reasons for each objection, including the legal and evidentiary support the Class Member wishes to bring to the Court s attention; (c) must include documents sufficient to prove the objector s membership in the Class; (d) must be filed no later than December 27, 2015 with the Hamilton County Common Pleas Clerk of Court, located at 1000 Main Street, Room 315, Cincinnati, OH 45202; and (e) must be served by December 27, 2015 upon member of Class Counsel, Paul M. De Marco, Esq., Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC, 119 E. Court Street, Suite 530, Cincinnati, OH You are not required to attend the Fairness Hearing if you file an objection. You may (but are not required to) hire an attorney to file an objection on your behalf and/or attend the Fairness Hearing on your behalf.

6 GO TO THE HEARING ON JANUARY 8, 2016 AT 8:30 A.M., AND FILE A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPEAR SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 27, DO NOTHING. Filing a written objection and notice of intention to appear by December 27, 2015 allows you to speak in Court at the discretion of the Court about the fairness of the proposed Settlement, or the request for attorneys fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses. If you submit a written objection, you may (but do not have to) attend the Settlement Fairness Hearing and, at the discretion of the Court, speak to the Court about your objection. If you wish to be heard orally at the Fairness Hearing in opposition to the approval of the Settlement or Class Counsel s motion for an award of attorneys fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses, and if you filed a timely written objection as described above, you must also file a notice of appearance with the Clerk s Office and serve it on member of Class Counsel, Paul M. DeMarco, Esq., Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC, 119 E. Court Street, Suite 530, Cincinnati, OH so that it is received on or before December 27, Class Member who intend to object and desire to present evidence at the Fairness Hearing must include in their written objection or notice of appearance the identity of any witnesses they may call to testify and exhibits they intend to introduce into evidence at the Fairness Hearing. Class Members who do not file formal objections but who nonetheless would like to speak in favor of or in opposition to the approval of the Settlement or Class Counsel s motion for an award of attorneys fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses may do so at the Fairness Hearing, at the discretion of the Court. If you do nothing, you will receive a notice letter from the Claims Administrator as referenced in No. 2 above and will have the option to then accept a pro rata share via a check distributed to you by the Settlement Administrator or donate the equivalent amount to the Foundation. The Settlement of this Action will be binding upon you even if you do not respond to the Claim Administrator s notice letter. If you do nothing (i.e., you fail to respond to the Settlement Administrator s notice letter and fail to cash the check distributed to you by the Settlement Administrator), the amount of your check and any other such checks that remain uncashed after 6 months from the date of issuance shall be donated to the Foundation.

7 9. What if I have questions about the Settlement? If you have any questions about the Settlement, please contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel: Settlement Administrator Class Counsel Harvey Rosen, Ph.D. Burke, Rosen & Associates 2800 Euclid Avenue, Suite 300 Cleveland, OH (216) [email protected] Paul M. De Marco, Esq. Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC 119 E. Court St., Suite 530 Cincinnati, Ohio [email protected] DO NOT call or write the Court or the Board s counsel with questions about the Settlement. Dated: December 8, 2015 By Order of the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, Hamilton County, Ohio