Month: April 2008

So MsticAzn sends me this link a few weeks ago: Kashmiri lawsuit refund information

Kashmiri lawsuit refund information

Date: 2008-01-30
Contact: University of California Office of the President
Phone: (510) 987-9200
Email:

On Jan. 23, 2008, the California Supreme Court denied the University of California’s petition for review of the judgment in favor of plaintiffs in the Kashmiri v. Regents student fee lawsuit. The San Francisco Superior Court will now approve a formula for determining the amount of each class member’s refund and a process for distributing refunds. Refund distributions will be handled by an outside claims administrator, not the university. Class members are encouraged to send their current email and postal addresses to the class action administrator for this case at: lnelson@rustconsulting.com. Any other questions should be directed to the attorneys representing the plaintiff class at: info@browngold.com.

Not having much clue what exactly the lawsuit was, I awaited MsticAzn to get more information.

However yesterday, SkyLancer brings up this same topic and apparently it had to do with UC Regents raising fees after students were enrolled back in 2003. Talking it over with Ungsunghero, he found the lawsuit documentation and apparently only applies to the following group:

1. Current and former University of California (“UC”) students who enrolled in a UC professional degree program prior to December 16, 2000, and whose professional degree fees were raised after that date.
2. Students who attended any UC school on a semester system during the Spring 2003 semester, whose fees for that semester increased after they had already enrolled in classes and received bills for the semester.
3. Students who attended Summer 2003 session at UC Berkeley or UCLA, whose fees for that summer session increased after they had already enrolled and received bills for the session.

So I sent an email to Rust Consulting to find out how to determine if I was eligible for the refund and promptly received a reply back this morning:

Dear Mr. Hon,

Our records indicate that you are included in the Kashmiri v. The Regents of the University of California class. A notification was emailed to all class members to update them on the status of the settlement and to request that contact information be provided to update our records for future mailings. This notification was emailed to you at ********@berkeley.edu as that was the most current information that was available to us. I have included the notification in this email for your information in case you did not receive the previous email.

There is nothing further you need to do other than to keep us notified of any changes to your contact information. The case has been decided in favor of the students; however the trial court must still approve an allocation of recovery. Therefore, we are not certain when you will receive a refund, although it is likely to occur by the end of 2008. The students have created a website, www.educationisaright.org, that should post updates as they become available.

Sincerely,

Linda Nelson
Class Action Administrator
lnelson@rustconsulting.com

My ********@berkeley.edu email account was pretty much deactivated the day I graduated. I wonder if there’s some place I can go and update that email.

Anyway, here was the original email that was sent out to people:

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT STEPS TO TAKE TO ENSURE YOU RECEIVE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR POTENTIAL SHARE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA FEE OVERCHARGE JUDGMENT

You have been identified by the University of California as a member of the plaintiff class in the class action lawsuit known as Kashmiri v. The Regents of the University of California, which challenged certain fee increases at the University. The $33.8 million judgment in favor of the plaintiffs has been affirmed on appeal and is now final.

You will receive additional information about the distribution of the funds recovered from the University. As we begin this process, we need current e-mail and postal addresses for all class members so that we can send you additional notices and, eventually, a check if you are entitled to one. If you have changed your name, please provide both names. Please provide any updated contact information as soon as you can and if possible by April 21, 2008, by (1) replying to this e-mail (if you are the addressee), (2) sending an e-mail to ucfees@rustconsulting.com, or (3) mailing the information to Kashmiri v. Regents Class Action, P.O. Box 1931, Faribault MN 55021-7186. The information you provide will not be used for any other purpose.

Also, please forward this email to any of your classmates who may be members of the plaintiff class and encourage them to update their contact information. The plaintiffs consist of three subclasses:

1. Current and former University of California (“UC”) students who enrolled in a UC professional degree program prior to December 16, 2002, and whose professional degree fees were raised after that date.

2. Students who attended any UC school on a semester system during the Spring 2003 semester, whose fees for that semester increased after they had already enrolled in classes and received bills for the semester.

3. Students who attended the Summer 2003 session at UC Berkeley or UCLA, whose fees for that summer session increased after they had already enrolled and received bills for the session.

Thank you.

Rust Consulting
Class Action Administrator

If you believe you qualify for the refund but did not receive an email from them, you should email Rust Consulting to verify if they have your updated information. I’m not sure how the refund is going to be split or how much each person will get, but I assume we’ll find out shortly.