Los Angeles to Pay 2,000 Law Firms $4.5 Million in Tax Settlement

The city of Los Angeles will pay about 2,000 lawyers and law firms a combined $4.5 million to settle a class action related to the calculation of its business tax.

Judge Maren E. Nelson has preliminarily approved the $4,574,136.10 deal between the city and the class members, which are represented by lead plaintiff Berkes Crane Robinson & Seal LLP (BCRS), a Los Angeles-based law firm. BCRS filed the lawsuit in 2011, challenging the city’s requirement to include reimbursed expenses as part of gross receipts for calculating the business tax (Berkes Crane Robinson & Seal LLP v. City of Los Angeles, Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC473557, order granting preliminary settlement approval 10/26/17