Opinion ID: 1274667
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Prejudgment Interest of the Unlawful Portion of the License Fees from the Date the Class Action Was Filed

Text: The class seeks a refund under AS 43.10.210, [18] of all unlawfully exacted fees from the date of filing the lawsuit with statutory prejudgment interest calculated under AS 45.45.010. In Carlson I we held that AS 43.15.010 would govern any refund in this case, and that if the class succeeded on its constitutional claims it could only recover unlawfully collected fees if it could satisfy the protest requirement of AS 43.15.010. 798 P.2d at 1279-80. We remanded for further findings on whether the State had waived the protest requirement, thereby allowing a refund of all fees not barred by the statute of limitations. Id. The superior court found that the State had not waived the protest requirement. The class admits that it could not have satisfied the protest requirement for the taxes paid prior to the filing of the lawsuit, and thus does not seek a refund of any unlawfully assessed fees paid prior to June 22, 1984. However, the class claims that the filing of the complaint in the case at bar fulfills the protest requirement. Although the State does not address this issue in its brief, the record indicates that the State agrees that those fees which were paid after June 22, 1984, were paid under protest sufficient to permit a refund under AS 43.10.210. This does not mean that the State concedes that any refund would be due if the class succeeds. The State argued below that it only had conceded that the protest requirement of AS 43.10.210 had been met, and that this is merely one precondition to the `[r]ecovery of overpayments and protested payments.' Because the State does not brief this issue, it is impossible to know whether it would still make this argument. If on remand the superior court determines that the class has prevailed, the superior court must also decide whether the filing of this suit constituted notice sufficient to comply with the protest requirement of AS 43.10.210(a), and whether prejudgment interest is due under AS 45.45.010.