Published
October 2, 2026
Single-family residential customers of Otay Water District between July 14, 2014 and December 31, 2022 who were overcharged under the district's water rates will be paid automatically from a $12 million settlement, by bill credit for current customers or by payment for former customers; there is no claim form to file. The final approval hearing was held July 31, 2026, and no signed approval order or payment date had been posted as of October 2, 2026.
Current Status
There is nothing to file. Otay Water District has agreed to pay $12 million to settle Coziahr v. Otay Water District, and customers who were overcharged receive refunds automatically. The opt-out and objection deadline passed on July 3, 2026, and the final approval hearing was held on July 31, 2026 in San Diego Superior Court. The official settlement website posts only a proposed, unsigned final approval order, so OpenClassActions has not confirmed that final approval was granted. No payment date had been announced as of October 2, 2026.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Pending — Automatic Payment
Final approval hearing held July 31, 2026 · signed approval order not yet posted · no payment date announced
Key Deadline
Passed — July 3, 2026
Opt-out and objection deadline · there is no claim deadline, because there is no claim form
Estimated Payout
Pro rata refund
Sized to each customer's calculated overcharge · not every class member was overcharged, so not everyone receives a refund
Proof Required
Automatic Payment
No claim form — current customers get a bill credit; former customers are paid by the administrator and may be asked to confirm contact details
What Changed Recently?
This settlement ends a case that was decided on liability years ago. The class action was filed in July 2015 and challenged Otay's tiered single-family residential water rates under Proposition 218, which requires that a property-related fee not exceed the proportional cost of service. The trial court found that the rate structure was unconstitutional, and in July 2024 the California Court of Appeal affirmed that judgment except for the refund amount, which it sent back for a new trial.Rather than retry the refund amount, the parties settled in 2026. The court granted preliminary approval to the $12 million, non-reversionary settlement on May 6, 2026, notice went out, and the final approval hearing took place on July 31, 2026 before Judge Michael T. Smyth. Otay Water District denies that it overcharged any class member or that any money is owed.
Who Qualifies?
The class is all single-family residential customers of Otay Water District at any time between July 14, 2014 and December 31, 2022. The proposed final approval order describes about 88,283 identified current and former customers. Otay's officers and directors, Class Counsel, the judge and the judge's immediate family and staff are excluded, as is anyone who submitted a valid opt-out by July 3, 2026.Being in the class is not the same as receiving money. Only customers who were overcharged under the expert's refund model receive a refund; the notice says plainly that not all customers were overcharged. Customers who were not overcharged still release their claims and still benefit from the rate changes Otay has already made.
How Much Can You Get?
Refunds are pro rata. The plaintiff's expert, Greg Clumpner, calculated for each customer the difference between what they actually paid from July 14, 2014 through December 31, 2022 and what they would have paid without the unlawful rates. Under the settlement each customer's figure from that model is reduced proportionally so the total matches the net fund. The net fund is split 72.17% to current customers and 27.83% to former customers, which is how the model divided the refunds owed. The agreement allows a minimum refund floor so that very small amounts are not paid out at a loss.The proposed final approval order would deduct $4,000,000 in attorneys' fees, $283,069.80 in litigation costs, a $5,000 service award, $64,105 for the settlement administrator and $155,916 to reimburse Otay's own administration costs. If those amounts are approved as proposed, about $7.5 million remains for refunds. That is an OpenClassActions calculation from the proposed order, not an official figure. Individual refunds vary with how much each household was overcharged, so no average is meaningful.
Former customers who closed their accounts owing Otay money have that balance subtracted from their refund first, under the proposed order; any balance larger than the refund wipes it out. Money left after distribution goes to the Sierra Club California Water Committee, including the San Diego chapter, rather than back to Otay.
Is There a Claim Form or Notice ID?
No. There is no claim form, and the refund is not gated on any code. Current customers receive their refund as a credit on their water bill. Former customers are paid by the settlement administrator, RG/2 Claims Administration, which may ask them to confirm their contact information and pick a payment method.The settlement website's Account Refund Status page lets a customer enter their Otay customer ID to see whether they are estimated to receive a refund. That lookup is optional and informational; it does not file anything and is not required to be paid.
What Are the Deadlines?
No deadline remains open. The deadline to opt out or object was July 3, 2026. Class members who did not opt out are bound by the settlement once it takes effect. Former customers should respond if the administrator contacts them to confirm an address or payment method, since that is how their payment reaches them.What Do You Need to Do?
Nothing, for most customers. Former customers who have moved since leaving the district are the group most at risk of a missed payment, and they can update their information through the contact page on the official Otay Water District settlement website, which also posts the notice, the settlement agreement and the court filings.What Happens Next?
Payment is tied to the Date of Finality, which the agreement defines as one business day after the time to appeal the final approval order runs out, or after any appeal ends with the order left in place. Within 30 days after that date, Otay begins one-time bill credits to about one-twelfth of current customers each month, so every current customer is credited within 12 months. The administrator begins paying former customers within the same 30 days.The City of San Diego settled a similar single-family water rate case separately; see the San Diego $40 million water rate settlement for that class.
Sources and Verification
This page was written from the court-approved notice, the class action settlement agreement, the proposed final approval order and the 2024 appellate decision, all posted on the official settlement website. The notice is embedded below.- Class Action Notice dated May 6, 2026, Coziahr v. Otay Water District, No. 37-2015-00400000-CU-MC-CTL (San Diego Super. Ct.) — embedded below
- Class Action Settlement Agreement, including the allocation in Section 9 and the definition of the Date of Finality
- [Proposed] Order Granting Final Approval of Class Action Settlement, Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Service Award, submitted for the July 31, 2026 hearing
- Coziahr v. Otay Water District, No. D081099 (Cal. Ct. App. July 15, 2024) — affirming liability and reversing the refund amount
- Official Otay Water District settlement website — notice, refund status lookup and court documents
Questions
Why will some Otay customers get nothing?
Refunds go only to customers who were overcharged under the expert's model, which compares what each customer actually paid with what they would have paid under lawful rates. Customers whose bills came out the same or lower under that comparison are class members but are not owed a refund.
What happens to a former customer who left with an unpaid balance?
The proposed final approval order directs the administrator to subtract any outstanding balance owed to Otay from that customer's refund before paying the rest. If the balance is larger than the refund, nothing is paid.
How does a customer check whether a refund is coming?
The official settlement website has an Account Refund Status page where a customer can enter their Otay customer ID to see whether they are estimated to receive a refund. The lookup is informational; the refund is paid whether or not a customer uses it.
Where does leftover money go?
Any money left after distribution goes to the court-approved cy pres recipient, the Sierra Club California Water Committee, including its San Diego chapter. None of it returns to Otay Water District.
Is this the same as the City of San Diego water rate settlement?
No. Otay Water District is a separate public water agency in San Diego County. The City of San Diego settled its own single-family water rate case separately, with its own fund, class and deadlines.
Official Settlement Notice
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Settlement Amount
$12,000,000
Case Title
Coziahr v. Otay Water District
Case Number
37-2015-00400000-CU-MC-CTL
Court
Superior Court of California, County of San Diego
Final Approval Hearing
July 31, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Held before Judge Michael T. Smyth · signed order not yet posted
Administrator
RG/2 Claims Administration
Official Website
Otay Water District Case
