A ruling by District Court Judge Gregory Pinski in Cascade County has made a suit by six Billings residents against the City of Billings into a class action lawsuit. The suit, which claims that the City of Billings illegally collected a franchise fee on water, wastewater and solid waste disposal bills, will now have approximately 35,000 other residents as plaintiffs.
Initially filing the case were Terry Houser, Terry Odegard, Roger Webb, Mae Woo, Kathryn Zurbuchen and Tom Zurbuchen.
The city ceased charging the fees last summer, which they say makes the complaint “moot.” Starting in 1992 the city charged and additional 4% for water, 5% for solid waste disposal services.
The plaintiffs are being represented by attorney Matthew Monforton.
The City of Billings also faces another class action suit regarding the collection of a $10 surcharge from every person charged with a misdemeanor or traffic violation since 2005.
The case was filed by The Netzer Law Office and West Law Firm on behalf of John M. Gurr, who had to pay the fee as part of a $95 fine for violating a protection order in 2017.
Billings City Codes allow for charging the fee, but a recent Montana Supreme Court decision (Corinne M. Franklin v. City of Missoula) ruled that municipal courts cannot add surcharges for violations of state law.
Plaintiff attorneys claim that anyone who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense in Billings Municipal Court and paid the $10 surcharge is eligible to join the suit.
