You received this notice because according to our records, you paid water and/or sewer acreage fees, impact fees, capacity fees, fire line fees, and/or system development fees to the Defendant Town of Fuquay-Varina from June 24, 2016 through June 30, 2018. The Court ordered this notice because you have the right to know about a proposed settlement of this class action, and about your options, before the Court decides whether to approve the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, and after any objections and appeals are resolved, the Defendant will make the payments that the settlement allows. This notice explains the lawsuit, your legal rights and what benefits are available. The parties who sued are called the “Plaintiffs” or “Class Representatives.” The Town of Fuquay-Varina that was sued is called the “Defendant.” The Honorable Jeffrey B. Foster, a specially appointed North Carolina Superior Court Judge, is overseeing this lawsuit.

The Plaintiffs contend that the Town of Fuquay-Varina unlawfully imposed water and sewer impact fees without authority from the North Carolina General Assembly. The Plaintiffs are seeking damages and refunds for all individuals, proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other entities who (a) from June 24, 2016 through June 30, 2018 (b) paid water or sewer acreage fees, impact fees, capacity fees, fire line fees, and/or system development fees to the Town of Fuquay-Varina. Defendant contends that its actions were lawful, and that Plaintiffs and other natural persons and corporate entities who paid the water and sewer impact fees are not entitled to damages or refunds. The Town denies each of the legal claims made by the Plaintiffs.

A class action is a lawsuit in which one or more persons, called Class Representatives, sue on behalf of a “class” of other persons or entities with similar claims. Those other people are called the “class members.” The Court decides all the issues in the lawsuit for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. In this Settlement, the Class Representatives have brought the case on behalf of other people and corporate entities who have similar claims and who also paid water and/or sewer acreage fees, impact fees, capacity fees, fire line fees, and/or system development fees to the Town of Fuquay-Varina.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendant. Instead, the Parties agreed to a settlement. That way, they avoid the cost of trial, and the people affected, the Settlement Class Members, will get compensation. The Settlement is intended to resolve all claims against the Defendant Town of Fuquay-Varina that have been asserted or could have been asserted by Class Members concerning the water and sewer impact fees. The Class Representatives and the attorneys think the settlement is best for the Class Members. The parties agreed that the settlement is a compromise of disputed claims and Defendant Town does not admit that it did anything wrong.

By receiving this Class Notice, you have been identified as a Settlement Class Member from the Town’s records. The Settlement Class is defined as all individuals, proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other entities who (a) from June 24, 2016 through June 30, 2018 (b) paid water or sewer acreage fees, impact fees, capacity fees, fire line fees, and/or system development fees to the Town of Fuquay-Varina.

Yes. Excluded from the Settlement Class are: Individuals, proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and other entities who paid impact fees subject to the following agreements: (a) “Development and Infrastructure Agreement” between Bill Clark Homes of Raleigh, LLC and the Town dated October 7, 2014 for the Sunset Glen Subdivision; (b) “Development and Infrastructure Agreement” between Reliabuilt, LLC and the Town dated December 30, 2014 for the Sonoma Springs Subdivision; and (c) “Infrastructure Agreement” between BB-Massengill, LLC and the Town dated June 30, 2016 for the Bentwinds Bluffs Subdivision.

There are no other exceptions to being included in the Settlement Class except for Settlement Class Members who exclude themselves by sending a Request for Exclusion.

If the Settlement is approved, the Town will provide payments to class members who paid water and sewer acreage fees, impact fees, capacity fees, fire line fees, and/or system development fees at any point in time from June 24, 2016 through June 30, 2018. The Town of Fuquay-Varina will establish a Settlement Fund equal to four million seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($4,750,000.00) less attorneys’ fees and costs as awarded by the court.

In the event a Settlement Class Member to whom a distribution is due cannot be found during the nine-month period after this Action becomes Final and after the Class Notice Administrator has applied good faith efforts to locate such person, such amount shall revert back to the Common settlement fund to be distributed to Class Members in the same percentages as their Class Member benefits checks from the common fund. In the event all Class Members are made whole (by receiving the full amount paid in fees plus interest of 6% from the date of payment back in settlement funds) and money remains in the settlement fund those funds shall be paid to the Town.

You must file your Request for Exclusion with the Clerk of Superior Court, Wake County Courthouse at 316 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27601, and mail copies of your Request for Exclusion postmarked by April 30, 2021, to Town of Fuquay-Varina Impact Fee Class Action – Exclusions, 575 Military Cutoff Rd., Suite 102, Wilmington, N.C. 28405 and postmarked by the same date to the following:

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to ever sue the Town of Fuquay-Varina for the claims that this settlement resolves, including claims relating to the settled claims that are presently unknown. If you have a pending lawsuit against the Town of Fuquay-Varina concerning impact fees, you should speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately. You must exclude yourself from this Class and Settlement to continue your own lawsuit. Any exclusion request postmarked after the deadline will not be valid, and the sender will be a Settlement Class Member and bound by the settlement and release.

Objecting is the way to tell the Court if there is something that you do not like about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class and the Settlement. Excluding yourself is the way to tell the Court that you do not want to be part of the Class and Settlement, and that you want to keep the right to file your own lawsuit. If you exclude yourself, you cannot object because the Settlement no longer affects you.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses not to exceed one-third (1/3) of the value of the Settlement fund. The Court will determine the amount of fees and expenses to award. Class Counsel will also request that $5,000 be paid to each of the Class Representatives who helped the lawyers on behalf of the whole Class.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you do not have to. The hearing will be held via WebEx at 2:00 p.m. on May 6, 2021. At this hearing, the Court will consider all the objections, if any, and will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will listen to people who have filed timely written objections and have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much to pay Class Counsel. At the conclusion of the Hearing or after the Hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the hearing if you object to the settlement or an award of attorneys’ fees. To do so, you must serve a written objection within the deadline set out in Question 13 above, and your objection must state that you (or your lawyer) intend to appear at the Hearing. You can find how to serve an objection, and the due date for serving the objection, in Question 13 on pages 5 and 6 of this Notice. You cannot speak at the hearing if you excluded yourself from the class.

You can get more information or have questions answered by calling the offices of Class Counsel toll-free:

Shipman & Wright, LLP
575 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 106 Wilmington, NC 28405
Phone: 800-762-1990