MARCH 10 DEADLINE SET FOR UCC FEE REFUND 2004-02-09 (2)

Michael Garry

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Retailers with private-label products as well as brand manufacturers who wish to qualify for payment from a proposed class-action settlement with the Uniform Code Council need to send in a claim form by March 10, according to a new Web site, www.uccsettlement.com.

The settlement provides that companies who became members of the UCC, Lawrenceville, N.J., before Aug. 28, 2002, are not obligated to pay membership renewal dues to UCC to maintain membership, as a condition for use of UCC company prefixes, or as a condition for basic membership benefits, the site said.

Claim forms may be obtained at that site. To get out of the settlement, or to comment on the plan, a letter must be posted by the same date.

Those defined as members of the class-action suit who have paid the renewal fee are entitled to compensation from a $3,895,000 settlement fund. A Superior Court here will hold a hearing on March 26 to decide on whether to give final approval to the settlement. Dennis Harrison, president of EAN.UCC, a division of UCC, said he expects the court to approve the settlement.

Harrison said that companies who joined UCC prior to August 2003 and continue to pay annual dues, based on company size, will receive a higher level of benefits from the organization. He said UCC had pursued annual dues to shore up its resources for new projects. "If we don't get enough funding, some projects are not going to happen," he said.