EARLY RELEASE OF STORY-Originally published in the 6/8/18 print edition of Yellowstone County news.
BILLINGS — Attorneys for the City of Billings have responded to a class action suit over utility franchise fees by saying district judges may not be able to hear the case because of a conflict of interest — they may benefit as members of the class.
Doug James and Ariel Overstreet-Adkins of Moulton Bellingham PC, representing the city, claimed in documents called a “report to court” filed late last week that “it appears that all of the District Court judges located in Yellowstone County are members of the proposed class and the subclasses described in plaintiff’s complaint. Accordingly, all of the judges in Yellowstone County may have a potential conflict of interest with this case.”
At issue in the case is whether franchise fees charged on city utilities, including water, sewer and trash collection, are illegal sales taxes on services. Six plaintiffs, Terry Houser, Mae Woo, Thomas Zurbuchen Kathreyn Zurbuchen, Roger Webb, Terry Odegard and Steven Roller, filed the class action suit May 16 alleding that the city’s collection of these fees had resulted in millions of dollars being illegally shunted into the city’s general fund.
The plaintiffs responded to the city’s claim on Monday by filings a motion to strike the city’s “report to court” from court files because the city does not have authority to… Read full story by subscribing here online or by purchasing a newspaper over the counter.
