The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon | May 5, 2023
Safeway has agreed to pay up to $8.75 million to settle a class action lawsuit over allegations that the grocer improperly passed a Portland clean energy tax on to shoppers.
Two Safeway customers sued last year, accusing the grocer of adding a surcharge to Portland patrons’ total. The added line item was apparently in response to 1% city tax on certain large retailers tied to the Portland Clean Energy Fund that voters approved in November 2018.
The settlement also resolves a similar lawsuit against Safeway that was filed in 2019 by a customer who accused Safeway of unlawfully passing along the clean energy surcharge to customers. The customer accused the grocer for charging a 3-cent surcharge on a bottle of wine advertised for $3.33.
CPT Group Inc., a class action settlement administrator, announced earlier this week that while Safeway denies allegations of wrongdoing, it has agreed to a settlement.
Albertsons, which owns Safeway, did not immediately respond to emails for comment.
Anyone who paid the extra charge on non-grocery items between Sept. 9, 2019, and July 22, 2020, can file a claim, according to the ruling document. Claims can be filed on the settlement website, or by writing to SafewaySurcharge@cptgroup.com, by July 1, 2023.
Claimants who qualify will be eligible to receive up to $200, which will come out of the net settlement fund totaling up to $8.75 million. About 25% of the funds will be used to cover attorney’s fees.
The per-claimant amount may be reduced, however, depending on how many file claims.
As part of the settlement, Safeway has also agreed to pay up to $200,000 for administrative costs to distribute payments.
Since the beginning of 2019, large retailers doing business in Portland have to pay a 1% tax on the revenue they generate in the city. Voters approved the measure in November 2018, applying the tax to retail stores that have more than $1 billion in sales nationally and $500,000 within the city.
Some businesses were exempt from the tax, including utilities, credit unions, co-ops and the sales of health care services, most groceries, medicine and drugs.
In 2019, a Lewis & Clark history professor filed a class action lawsuit against AT&T accusing the company of wrongly charging customers an extra fee in the name of Portland’s 1% clean energy tax on large businesses, even though it did not even apply to the phone provider. The case was dismissed, but the company said it would refund customers impacted.
The business tax is meant to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs for low-income residents, reducing the city’s overall energy use and carbon footprint.
