Okaloosa County BOCC — November 3, 2015 — Proposed Settlement of case of United States ex rel. Fulk v. United Parcel — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: November 3, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Roland Sims Jr. SUBJECT: Proposed Settlement of case of United States ex rel. Fulk v. United Parcel Services Inc. DEPARTMENT: County Administrator BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Office of the Attorney General has instituted litigation against United Parcel Services, Inc. (“UPS”) alleging that it may have overcharged many governmental customers. A multistate settlement has been reached which would address overpayments made by various governmental entities. While the lawsuit did not include local overpayment purchases in Florida, the Attorney General has requested that the settlement be expanded to provide relief to local governments in Florida and UPS has agreed. As a result, the County has received a check for $61.77 representing its pro rata share of the settlement. If the Board wishes to approve the settlement as to any claim that it might have, then all that is required is that the Board authorize that the check be deposited and the matter will be finalized. This must be done prior to November 13th, 2015. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS: The Office of the Attorney General has instituted litigation against United Parcel Services, Inc. (“UPS”) alleging that it may have overcharged many governmental customers. A multistate settlement has been reached which would address overpayments made by various governmental entities. The allegations were that UPS employees allegedly recorded inaccurate delivery times on packages sent by governmental customers through next-day delivery services, resulting in premium-priced packages that appeared to have been delivered by their guaranteed commitment times when they had not been timely delivered. The lawsuit also alleged that certain UPS employees applied inapplicable or inappropriate exception codes to excuse late next-day packages. While the lawsuit did not include local overpayment purchases in Florida, the Attorney General has requested that the settlement be expanded to provide relief to local governments in Florida and UPS has agreed. As a result, the County has received a check for $61.77 representing its pro rata share of the settlement. If the Board wishes to approve the settlement as to any claim that it might have, then all that is required is that the Board accept the check and authorize that it may be deposited and the matter will be finalized. This must be done prior to November 13th, 2015. A copy of the letter from the Office of the Attorney General is attached as part of this Agenda Request. OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove. RECOMMENDATION: Approve the proposed settlement and authorized the deposit of the check for $66.71 in full satisfaction of any claim that the County may have related to the UPS lawsuit. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator