Long County, Georgia Fire Fee Refund Settlement

How much a person receives will depend on the Administrator’s calculations and the final number and payments of qualified class members. The stated 50% figure is an expectation, not a guaranteed amount.

• The Administrator will identify qualified taxpayers and calculate each person’s refund after final approval.
• Each qualified member’s share is based on that member’s Fire Fees paid during the refund period compared with all qualified members’ Fire Fee payments.
• The notice estimates a return of 50% of Fire Fees paid, less the member’s proportional share of fees and expenses. It does not yet state anyone’s individual refund amount.

You may need to check the Settlement Webpage after the Administrator finishes its calculations. The notice says that timing updates may also be posted there.

• The Administrator will post the names of class members and their calculated refunds on the Settlement Webpage.
• The posting will also explain how to object to an individual refund amount.
• The notice does not give a fixed deadline for those individual-refund objections.

This process is for a taxpayer whom the Administrator did not initially identify as a class member. The notice does not guarantee that submitting a form will result in a refund.

• Download, complete, and submit the Claim Form using its directions.
• The Administrator will review the claim and notify you of its finding.
• You have 15 days to object to that finding. A Special Master will decide the objection, and that decision is final and binding.

Payment can take longer because final approval is required and an appeal may delay implementation. The notice does not promise a single payment date for every class member.

• The County is to pay $250,000 by January 10, 2027, and another $250,000 by July 1, 2027.
• The Administrator aims to finish individual calculations within nine months after entry of the Final Order.
• For Category 1 members, the fund administrator is to issue checks within 30 days after receiving the refund and mailing-address information, using available fund money.

The release is limited to the Fire Fee-related claims described in the notice, but it applies whether the claims were made in the lawsuit or could have been made there.

• You cannot exclude yourself, meaning you cannot leave this settlement.
• You may submit a written objection instead.
• If the settlement receives final approval, class members release specified claims concerning Fire Fees assessed, collected, or paid from September 6, 2024 through final approval.

The notice requires additional disclosures from people who object, including information about prior class-action objections and any agreements related to the objection. An objection that does not follow the listed process may be treated as waived.

• Mail the objection to the Clerk of the Superior Court of Long County, Class Counsel, and counsel for Long County.
• It must be postmarked by September 7, 2026.
• It must include identifying information, why you say you are a class member, your grounds for objecting, your signature, and the other information listed in the notice.

The notice warns that the hearing’s date and time may change without another mailed or published notice.

• The hearing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on October 6, 2026, at the Long County Courthouse.
• The Court will consider final class certification, settlement approval, attorney fees, and the requested service payment for the named plaintiff.
• You do not have to attend. A properly submitted written objection can still be considered without your appearance.

These requests have not yet been awarded. The notice says the fee and service-payment requests will be filed at least 35 days before the final approval hearing and posted on the Settlement Webpage when filed.

• Class Counsel may ask the Court for attorney fees of up to 40% of the $500,000 refund fund, plus documented out-of-pocket expenses.
• Class Counsel may also ask for a service payment to Gardner Rentals, LLC equal to 2.5% of the fund.
• The Court must approve any such awards, and class members may object to the requests.