$151M settlement in January 2014 WV water crisis

A $151 million settlement has been proposed to resolve a federal court class-action lawsuit over the January 2014 water crisis in West Virginia that impacted over 200,000 people.

There will be a "simple payment" option for class members and another option for members who seek specific additional damages amounts (like medical costs, replacement hot water heater, etc.). The class includes everyone who lived in a residential dwelling (homeowners and renters) supplied with tap water from West Virginia American Water’s Kanawha Valley Treatment Plant on Jan. 9, 2014; all businesses, non-profit and governmental entities that received tap water from that same plant on that date; and everyone who was regularly employed as an hourly-wage earner by those businesses.

Any class member who wants to opt out of the settlement will have to do so before a deadline that will be announced by the court.

Residential households in the class who use the simple payment option would get under the settlement $525 + $170 for each additional resident.

For more information see http://wvwaterlitigation.com/

Most ID theft victims don’t need a police report. . .

by Seena Gressin
Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC

When it comes to reporting and recovering from identity theft, the FTC is simplifying the process by eliminating the need for a police report in most cases.

How does it work? When you report identity theft using IdentityTheft.gov, you’ll answer some questions about what happened. IdentityTheft.gov then uses your information to create the tools you need to begin your recovery, including:

• a personal recovery plan
• pre-filled letters to send to merchants, banks, and others affected by the identity theft, and
• an “Identity Theft Report,” which is your official statement about the crime.

In most cases, you can use your Identity Theft Report in place of a police report to clear your account and credit records of transactions that resulted from the identity theft. That’s because when you use IdentityTheft.gov, you’re reporting the crime to the Federal Trade Commission, a federal law enforcement agency. Just like when you file a police report, you’re legally obligated to tell the truth to the best of your knowledge, and subject to criminal penalties if you don’t. That makes your Identity Theft Report powerful evidence that you’re telling the truth.

By reducing the need for police reports, IdentityTheft.gov helps you get started on your recovery quickly, and helps free local police to focus on public safety. Still, contact the police to report identity theft if:

• you know the identity thief, or have other information that could help a police investigation
• an identity thief used your name in a traffic stop or any encounter with police, or
• a creditor, debt collector, or someone else affected by the identity theft insists that you produce a police report.

To learn more about identity theft, browse the FTC's recovery steps, or visit the FTC's Privacy and Identity page for prevention tips.

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