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Sioux Falls Sewer Class
Action
Frequently Asked
Questions
no payment is required to participate in the
class action.
Exclusion Date:
Postmarked no later than January 4, 2008.
1.
What is the “Notice” I received in
the mail?.
1
2.
Am I required to pay anything to
participate in the class action?.
2
4.
What is the current status of the
class action suit?.
2
5.
How do I know if I can participate
in the class action suit?.
3
7.
Who represents me in this case?.
3
8.
What if I did not receive a Notice
or lost it?.
3
9.
How will I receive payment under
any settlement or verdict?.
4
10.
When will I receive payment
following any settlement or verdict?.
4
12.
What if I do not remember the
amount of property damage that I incurred, or I
do not know the value of damaged property?.
5
13.
What is the amount of the payment
that I will receive under any settlement or
verdict?
5
15.
How is Class Counsel being paid?.
6
16.
How do I find out more information
about the case?.
6
17.
What if my address or contact
information changed?.
6
18.
What if I have additional
questions?.
6
The “Notice” you
received refers to a class action suit against
The City of Sioux Falls, in the State of South Dakota (discussed in Paragraph
3). You received the Notice because you may be a
member of the Class.
YOU ARE
NOT BEING SUED.
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NO. No payment is required to participate in the class
action.
While you are not required to make any payment
to participate in the class action,
contributions for case expenses are permitted.
For questions about contributions to the class
action, please contact attorney
Jonathan
Krueger of Hughes Law Offices at (605) 339-3939
or by email at
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com.
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3. What is the class action
suit about?
The lawsuit alleges violations of state law and
contends that the City of Sioux Falls was
negligent and is otherwise legally liable for
failing to properly design, construct,
condition, upgrade, inspect, repair, and
maintain the City’s sanitary and storm sewer
lines and systems, resulting in the discharging
of water and raw human waste into homes,
businesses, and other buildings in the
designated geographic area. The City denies
these allegations and has denied any liability
to the plaintiffs or any member of the class.
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The class action is currently pending and no
settlement or verdict favorable to the Class has
been reached in this class action.
November 23, 2004
Class Counsel filed the Notice of Claim
with the City of
Sioux Falls
June 16, 2005
Class Counsel filed the Complaint
July 5, 2005
The City of Sioux Falls filed its Answer
October 24, 2006
Class Counsel filed the Motion for Class
Certification
January 5, 2007
The City of Sioux Falls filed its Brief
Opposing Class Certification
January 10, 2007
Hearing on Motion for Class Certification
March 23, 2007
Court Ruling grants Class Certification
September 27, 2007
Court signs Order Granting Motion for
Class Certification
January
4, 2008
Deadline for class members exclusion from
the Class
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This class action includes anyone who may have
suffered damage to a home, business, or other
real or personal property in connection with
sanitary sewer backups and surface water flow
into homes and buildings suffered in connection
with storms and flooding that occurred in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, on
May 29,
2004 and
June 16,
2004 (the “water events”) and is located
within the geographic area of Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, bordered by 57th Street to the South,
Southeastern Drive to the East, Kiwanis Avenue
to the West, and Russell Street to the North
(the “designated geographic area”) from one or
both water events in May or June of 2004. Any
property owner who suffered any such damage
within this designated geographic area is
considered to be a class member,
unless
they exclude themselves from the Class.
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6. What constitutes property
damage as defined in the Complaint?
Class members may seek to recover five general
types of damages: (1) clean-up costs; (2) repair
costs; (3) personal property loss; (4) lost
income; and (5) property value loss. There is no
claim for personal injury or emotional distress.
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The attorneys representing the plaintiffs in
this class action are Steven M. Johnson of
Johnson,
Heidepriem, Janklow, Abdallah & Johnson LLP
and John R. Hughes of
Hughes Law Offices in Sioux Falls.
Class members not wanting to participate in the
class action, and who exclude themselves from
the class before the January 4, 2008 deadline
will not represented by the above-named
attorneys in the class action.
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If you did not receive a Notice and Claim Form,
or need a new one, you can download and print
the Notice and Claim Form from the Sioux Falls
Sewer Class Action website,
www.hughesatlaw.com/classaction. You may
also obtain a copy of the Notice and Claim Form
by calling attorney
Jonathan Krueger of Hughes Law
Offices at (605) 339-3939, or by email at
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com.
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The class action is currently pending and no
settlement or verdict favorable to the Class has
been reached in this class action. The case is
contested by the City, and a favorable result is
not guaranteed.
To receive payment under any settlement or
verdict favorable to the Class, you must
complete and submit a Claim Form and mail it,
postmarked no later than the deadline to submit
a claim, to the address below. To request a
Notice and Claim Form, you may call attorney
Jonathan
Krueger at Hughes Law Offices at (605) 339-3939
and request that a Notice and Claim Form be
mailed to you, or you may download it from the
website, www.hughesatlaw.com/classaction.
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The class action is currently pending and no
settlement or verdict favorable to the Class has
been reached in this class action. The case is
contested by the City, and a favorable result is
not guaranteed.
There may be appeals of any verdict favorable to
the Class. It is difficult to estimate how long
it might take for any appeals to be resolved,
but it may take a significant amount of time. If
there is an appeal of a verdict favorable to the
Class, the outcome of which is that the verdict
is upheld, the Net Settlement Fund will be
distributed after appeals are final. In no event
will any potential distribution take place
earlier than the deadline to submit a claim.
Information updates regarding the status of the
class action will be posted at this website.
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11. When is the deadline to submit a claim?
Class members wanting to participate and be
bound by the result obtained in this class
action should complete and sign the form
enclosed with the Notice (or available
here) and return it by January 4,
2008, to Hughes Law Offices at:
Sewer System Class Action
c/o Hughes Law Offices
431 North Phillips Avenue, Suite 330
Sioux Falls,
South Dakota
57104-5933
The deadline for class members to
include
or exclude themselves from the Class is
January 4, 2008.
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If you do not remember the amount of property
damage you incurred in connection with sanitary
sewer backups and surface water flow into your
home or other property, you may contact attorney
Jonathan
Krueger of Hughes Law Offices at (605) 339-3939
or by email at
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com.
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There is no guarantee of any payment. The class
action is currently pending and no settlement or
verdict favorable to the Class has been reached
in this class action. The case is contested by
the City, and a favorable result is not
guaranteed.
In the event of any settlement or verdict
favorable to the Class, Class members will be
paid pursuant to a Plan of Allocation, which
will be made available at the website
www.hughesatlaw.com/classaction. The actual
dollar amount paid to each Class member who
submits timely and valid claims will depend on
the total number of claims submitted, the
aggregate property damage sustained by Class
members, and the amount of costs, expenses, and
attorneys’ fees approved by the Court.
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14. What if I have already been reimbursed
for expenses incurred?
Please contact attorney
Jonathan
Krueger of Hughes Law Offices at (605) 339-3939
or by email at
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com.
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Class Counsel filed the Notice of Claim on
November 23, 2004, and the Complaint on June 16,
2005. Since then, Class Counsel have worked on
the case on an entirely contingent basis. Any
payment of attorney fees would be derived from a
judgment or settlement fund and must be approved
by the Court. If the class is not successful,
the attorneys will not receive any fees.
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The website
www.hughesatlaw.com/classaction contains the
Complaint, City of Sioux Falls’ Answer to
Complaint, March 23, 2007 Ruling Granting Class
Certification, the Order Granting Class
Certification, the Notice and Claim Form, and
other documents relevant to this case. Publicly
available court records may be inspected at the
Clerk’s Office, Second Judicial Circuit, State
of South Dakota, 425 North Dakota Avenue, Sioux
Falls, South
Dakota 57104, during the Court’s normal
business hours.
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If your address or contact information changed,
please inform the Class Counsel of your new
address or contact information by writing to:
Sewer System Class Action
c/o Hughes Law Offices
431 North Phillips Avenue, Suite 330
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
57104-5933
Be sure to include your full name and your
previous address, as well as your new address.
You may also contact attorney
Jonathan
Krueger of Hughes Law Offices at (605) 339-3939
or by email at
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com.
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If you have additional questions not answered
here or on the main page of the Sioux Falls
Sewer Class Action website, please contact
attorney Jonathan Krueger of Hughes Law Offices at (605)
339-3939, or write to Class Counsel: John R.
Hughes, Hughes Law Offices, 431 North Phillips Avenue, Suite 330,
Sioux Falls, South
Dakota
57104-5933. You
may also send an email inquiry to
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com. PLEASE DO
NOT CONTACT THE COURT.
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Class Counsel Contact
Information
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John R. Hughes, Esq.
Jonathan
D. Krueger, Esq.
Hughes Law Offices
431 North Phillips
Avenue, Suite 330
Sioux Falls,
South Dakota
57104
Telephone: (605)
339-3939
E-mail:
jonathan@hughesatlaw.com
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