San Diego has agreed to a $40 million settlement over how it billed single-family water customers, and about 436,069 customers are covered without having to file a claim form. A judge is scheduled to decide whether to give the deal final approval at a hearing on December 11, 2026, according to the OpenClassActions settlement summary.

The case is Patz v. City of San Diego, a challenge to the city’s tiered water rates. The class covers single-family customers of the city’s water system from August 14, 2014 to December 1, 2023.

The question for most households is whether their account is in the group and how any refund would reach them. The settlement website, SDWaterSettlement.com, says the money will be divided among class members who were overcharged, and it adds: “You will only receive a refund if you were overcharged.” So being in the class and being owed a refund are not quite the same thing. Anyone who was a single-family water customer in that period and received a court notice should look for the ID and passcode printed on it, because the site’s payment-method page asks for them.

A water refund that needs no claim form still has dates that can slip past a household, with an opt-out deadline of November 12 and a hearing on December 11. The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a claim log and payment tracker, so the notice, the payment choice and the date a check or deposit arrives are kept in one place.

TRACK THE SAN DIEGO WATER REFUND WITH A CLAIM LOG AND PAYMENT TRACKER →

How the refund works

The city agreed to pay $40 million into a non-reversionary fund, which means unspent money does not go back to the city. Court-approved costs come out of the fund first, so the amount divided among customers will be smaller than $40 million. The settlement site says each person’s share is based on a portion of the net fund.

There is no claim form. Accounts that were overcharged under the calculation the court accepted are paid automatically if the settlement is approved. According to the settlement website, the calculation is the one the California Court of Appeal accepted, and refunds depend on it. Customers can confirm their contact information and choose a paper check or an electronic payment on the site’s Submit Payment Method page.

That choice is the one step the settlement asks of customers who want money, and it is optional in the sense that no claim has to be filed. The settlement summary says the page requires the ID and passcode that came with the notice.

Dates that matter

The settlement has two dates that are fixed and one that could move:

• November 12, 2026: the deadline to opt out of the settlement or to object. Opt-out forms go to the settlement administrator, CPT Group, and objections must reach the court by the same date.
• December 11, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time: the final approval hearing in Department C-67 of San Diego Superior Court.
• Payment: no payment date has been announced, and money moves only after the court approves the deal.

The OpenClassActions summary warns that the hearing date can change, so the settlement site’s dates page is the place to check before December 11. Customers who opt out are not paid under the settlement.

Who is covered

The class is single-family residential water customers of the City of San Diego between August 14, 2014 and December 1, 2023, and the settlement summary puts its size at about 436,069 people. The class is limited to single-family accounts.

The settlement site’s help line is the contact for those questions, and the number it lists is 1-888-903-0334. It is a toll-free line run by the administrator, not by the city.

Confirming the account and following the payment

The free route starts at SDWaterSettlement.com, which shows whether an account is estimated to receive a refund and carries the Submit Payment Method link. The administrator, CPT Group, can also be reached by email at [email protected] or at the toll-free number above.

Before logging in, find the notice that came in the mail or by email, since the ID and passcode on it open the payment page. If the notice is gone, the administrator’s line is the place to ask for the information again. Anyone whose address or bank details have changed since the notice should update them on the same page, because a check sent to an old address is the usual way a settlement payment goes missing.

Write down the three dates above and the payment method chosen. When money is finally sent, the settlement site is where updates would be posted, so a check of that page after December 11 is the simplest way to see whether the court approved the deal and when payments begin.

Three dates and still no payment date

From the November 12 opt-out deadline to the December 11 hearing and a payment date that has not been announced, a notice with an ID and passcode can sit in a drawer for months. The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a claim log and payment tracker, built so that the payment choice, the dates and the day a check arrives are written down in one spot.

LOG THE DECEMBER 11 HEARING AND THE REFUND PAYMENT IN ONE TRACKER →

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.