At the regularly scheduled Emery County Commission meeting on Tuesday, county commissioners made the decision to opt in to a class action lawsuit that was initiated by Kane County in southern Utah.
In 2008, Congress significantly amended the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act by mandating full funding through 2014 to pay more for PILT money and removed language that limited the federal government’s payment obligation to the amounts appropriated by Congress. For the fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017, because of insufficient appropriations, PILT members did not receive the full amount.
Kane County filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking to recover its own underpayments and to recover additional sums under the PILT Act. Several months ago, the court ruled in Kane County’s favor and certified the lawsuit as class action. The court also ordered that an official notice of these events be sent to each underpaid PILT recipient.
Emery County Attorney Michael Olsen stated that he thought it would be a good idea for Emery County to opt in to the lawsuit. County commissioners agreed and approved to opt in to the class action lawsuit.