401 North Michigan Ave. Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: (312) 840 . There is an obligation to protect the public treasury.. Who's in, out of race? The first duty of lawyers from the Attorney Generals Office is to protect the interests of their clients state employees and more broadly, the taxpayers, said Cox, who served two terms as attorney general, through 2010. All legal issues relative to the case have been decided and it is time to put this to rest and deliver this meaningful resolution to those Michigan residents who were harmed by this error.. That harm, LaBelle said, ranges from the known, long-term, LaBelle said the states strategy is familiar. Only claimants who meet the definition of the settlement class will be eligible for money from the state. Consider Flint. As your attorney, I cant guarantee your results. According to the attorneys, the mediator had access to detailed records and information to determine how many people were affected by the auto-adjudication system, how much of their money was seized, and how much money had already been refunded by the State since the fraud auto-adjudication system was discontinued. Its a clich, but justice delayed is justice denied. After being flooded with claims in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment agency has paid nearly $40 billion to 3.48 million people since March 2020. That harm, LaBelle said, ranges from the known, long-term neurological effects of lead poisoning to drops in home property values in Flint during the crisis. In April 2019, the Court held that the class action was timely filed in accordance with the Michigan Court of Claims Act but only those claimants that had money collected from them for the first time on or after March 9, 2015 could be included in the potential class. It sits frozen in time deep in Lake Huron's "Shipwreck Alley", State of Michigan offering scholarships to attract future electric vehicle industry workers, LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to feel depressed with parental support, study says, House elections committee considers election security bills, Federal judge: Flint missed deadline for lead line replacements; must complete work by August. Michigan agency asks judge. If granted, a court order would require the Michigan UIA to pay benefits quickly, stop freezing benefits without due process, establish a procedure for collecting overpayments and remove all stop payment indicators until appeals can be considered. The claimants say their due process rights to receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the agency halts benefits, their property rights to state and federal jobless benefits and their right to protest or appeal an agency decision before the UIA starts collection activities all have been violated. But Brauserman v. Unemployment alleged the agency violated due process rights by intercepting tax refunds, garnishing wages and forcing claimants to repay benefits. By 2007, when the case had swelled to 381 prisoners, LaBelle said she made another settlement offer of $47 million. But instead, it put people under review and froze their accounts knowing that the agency doesnt have the resources to actually review it. Most charities soliciting contributions in Michigan are required to register with the Charitable Trust Section. Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) will have to stop seizing money from some people the agency claims received too much in unemployment benefits, after a Michigan Court of Claims judge's ruling. Red Wings keep Dylan Larkin with 8-year contract extension worth $69.6 million, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Justice. Completed registration forms should be submitted by April 5 and claim forms by April 14. Is this a $500 case or a $500 million case? For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers. Resolution of (Unemployment Insurance Agency) false fraud scandal this year is in the best interests of the citizens, the agency, the governor and other elected state officials, Lord told Bridge in an email. You may consider filing a report regarding your UIA experience to the Attorney Generals office here. The battle endured by worker Suzanne Lawrence illustrates just how far the state has been willing to go to defend claims, even when the agency its defending, in this case UIA, More than two years later, UIA accused her of collecting the unemployment at the same time she had received vacation pay, and ordered her to repay $158. The review released this week . Several weeks later, Lawrence was deemed eligible for unemployment benefits, receiving her first check on Feb. 20 of that year. For I.F., who worked part-time for an activity center, the unemployment agency went back and forth on her claim. I started 3/12 again. In one case, the state spent two years and deployed a team of attorneys to pry back $158 in benefits from a seasonal worker at Bloomfield Hills Country Club named Suzanne Lawrence only to lose when an appeals court ruled in July there was not even a scintilla of evidence she had committed fraud. Defending herself against UIA attorneys and, later, as many as four lawyers with the Attorney Generals Office, she fought it alone at first, representing herself before two administrative law judges and in Oakland County Circuit Court before turning to attorney Dennis Dubuc in the Court of Appeals. As long as the client wishes to go forward, we will continue to pursue the case.. More recently a press release claimed to halt collections for nearly 400,000 claimants. The agency was crushed by a huge increase in claims, persistent attempts at fraud, delays in payments, overpayments and then mass recalls of payments to those allegedly overpaid. By Antonia Leonard At any one time there are more than 10,000 charities registered with the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Section. In Michigan, while the agency says it repaid $21 million, attorneys in the class-action lawsuits argue that this doesn't account for all the damages. This class action lawsuit follows another class action against the UIA, which said the agency acted outside its legal authority in pursuing collections more than a year after benefits. Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency approved benefits for Kreps, 31, when COVID-19 restrictions forced him to close his Monroe pest control business in April 2020. The filing also argues the agency has a clear. The list is updated frequently, so check . (Photo provided by Blanchard & Walker), The lawsuit says the Michigan unemployment agency slapped labels like stop payment indicator or benefit payment review on thousands of eligible claims causing some to wait months while many have never been paid at all.. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency approved Kreps, 31, for benefits when COVID-19 restrictions forced him to shutter his Monroe pest control business in April 2020. Another plaintiff, Diana Boudrie, was furloughed from her job in April 2020. Based on the Supreme Courts 2019 decision, the number of claimants who will be eligible for settlement payments was decreased. Diana Boudrie was furloughed in April 2020 from a company that provided cooking demonstrations at Costco stores. Government lawyers continue, Michigan tenaciously fights the claims of Flint residents despite the findings of a state-appointed commission, which concluded, On another front, Michigan aggressively contested allegations of sex abuse of female prisoners by state prison guards, well after the evidence became overwhelming. "But the one that's still out there, the biggie that still out there, is involving the unemployment false fraud scandal . The plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency asked the court to suspend collection activities Thursday after the state billed them for as much as $50,000 for what the state calls overpayment of unemployment insurance benefits. The Injunction will have sweeping impact for many thousands of UI claimants now facing unconstitutional overpayment collection activity. The UIA says it accidentally overpaid unemployment benefits during the pandemic. She then appealed for a third time a month later. I couldnt get jobs even though I tried, but nobody was hiring because it was a pandemic. Potentially hundreds of thousands of Michiganders are impacted. Even though the lawsuit says Boudrie then filed a timely protest, the agency still demanded $9,440 be paid back under the threat of collection activity. Michigan unemployment agency unlawfully demanded money back, class-action lawsuit says, Michigan unemployment agency ordered to stop collections for some workers, Michigan erases $431M in pandemic unemployment overpayments, Who benefits from halt on unemployment collections? That didnt sit well with Lawrence, who argued that the two weeks of unemployment benefits covered the period, As for Flint, theres no dispute state and local officials failed to assure the citys water was safe when the state approved switching Flints drinking water in 2014 to the Flint River. Copyright 2023 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. The agency has never had the resources it needed throughout this pandemic.. A notice of settlement will be mailed to known class members on Feb. 1. Workers who dispute the settlement can attend a court hearing on Feb. 12, but this will not change the award amount. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Related: Michigan unemployment agency unlawfully demanded money back, class-action lawsuit says, Kreps qualified for $362 a week from the state and additional aid from the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Unemployment sent me to school full time 9/11. His parents took out a second mortgage to keep the family of four from losing their housing. Michigan apologizes for screwing residents. Practice Areas Overtime Unemployment Retaliation Discrimination Fair Credit Reporting Act Wage & Hour Termination Class Action Job Benefits Labor Laws Monsanto . Theres also no dispute residents were exposed to dangerously high lead levels as a result, with levels in some Flint children doubled by 2015. 7/20/2020: An unknown person used ATM skimming at a Bank of America location in Alhambra, California, and stole $1,000 from my EDD debit card account. UIA spokesman Nick Assendelft said the agency is still reviewing todays ruling by Judge Swartzle and its impact on claimants. He noted that UIA Director Julia Dale has already authorized 55,000 overpayment waivers with more to come, and has instructed staff to identify other claimants who may be eligible for overpayment waivers. Assendelft said claimants who believe they were not overpaid have the option and are encouraged to file a protest with the agency. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The unemployment agency responded to a request for comment by highlighting director Julia Dales recent efforts for improving access to jobless benefits for qualified workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The agency announced last month it received $6.8 million equity grant to help underserved communities. Potentially hundreds of thousands of Michiganders have been subject to illegal collection activity or had payments suspended as alleged in the Saunders and Kreps lawsuits. The State of Michigan has reached a $20 million settlement resolving a class action lawsuit alleging that the Unemployment Insurance Agency used an auto-adjudication system to falsely accuse . Government lawyers continue to contest a battery of lawsuits over the states role in the lead poisoning of Flints drinking water, a crisis that unfolded in 2014 when the impoverished city was under state control. Boudrie protested, but the agency didn't process her protest and a month later, she received a notice of collection demanding repayment of benefits paid and threatening garnishment if she did not make immediate monthly payments toward the benefits previously paid. Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency is under fire in a class-action lawsuit alleging the agency is illegally issuing overpayment letters to claimants and pursuing aggressive collections . We work closely with class action and mass tort attorneys across the country to help expose and uncover corporate wrongdoing. Its only fallen apart more in recent years. The settlement resolves a class-action lawsuit against the agency claimed in 2013 it falsely accused unemployment recipients of fraud and seized private property without due process. which said the agency acted outside its legal authority, https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2022/08/11/judge-uia-must-stop-collection-efforts-claimants-appeals/, https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2022/07/27/michigan-uia-unemployment-insurance-collection/10162293002/, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. DETROIT Paul Kreps waited for months to get pandemic unemployment benefits. Michigan tenaciously fights the claims of Flint residents despite the findings of a state-appointed commission, which concluded state government was primarily to blame for the disaster. Six defendants have entered guilty pleas; the remaining 31 cases are still pending. People like Colvin suffered long-term. I went to the Alhambra location to attempt but was unable to speak to the bank manager. The state does have an obligation to be a good steward of taxpayers money, said University of Michigan law professor Margo Schlanger, an expert on policies relating to prison sexual assault who followed the abuse litigation. But his MiWAM account, the online unemployment system, shows each of the 44 weekly payments were frozen by a Stop Payment Indicator.. OTHER FILED BY BKM CAPITAL PARTNERS, LP; BKM INCENTIVE VEHICLE, L.P.; BKM-206 GPMM, INC.; BKM INCENTIVE VEHICLE . But more than two years later, he still hasnt seen a penny. The most recent are billions of dollars in fraudulent payments paid out during the pandemic to thieves gaming the system. This settlement honors my commitment to ensure those falsely accused by their government receive fair compensation for their suffering, Nessel said in a statement Thursday. Kreps is now one of five people suing the Michigan unemployment agency. The Michigan Court of Claims appointed Michael L. Pitt, Jennifer L. Lord, Kevin M. Carlson, Bayan Jaber, and Beth M. Rivers as counsel for the settlement class. The state has garnished wages, seized tax returns, and otherwise forcibly collected much of that money. The battle endured by worker Suzanne Lawrence illustrates just how far the state has been willing to go to defend claims, even when the agency its defending, in this case UIA, conceded it had screwed up. Complaints about the $47 million computerized fraud-detection system poured into state unemployment agency soon after the system went active in the fall of 2013. Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (WILX) By George Castle Published: Oct. 20, 2022 at 8:36 AM PDT MICHIGAN (WNEM) - A class action lawsuit alleging Michigan's Unemployment. The court agreed with the argument pushed by state lawyers that the six-month statute of limitations to file claims began when the UIA first accused workers of fraud, rather than from the time the state took action to reclaim money from workers. The settlement was spread out over six years. This is ClassAction.org's current list of open lawsuits and investigations. This will provide contact information, a table of important dates and a list of documents that need to be submitted for the settlement. That obligation includes ensuring that any taxpayer money paid to lead victims is reasonable and justified. Class action lawsuit filed against Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. Michigan will pay $20 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by unemployment claimants who said they were falsely accused of unemployment fraud between 2013 and 2015. Class counsel and the unemployment agency put together a list that identifies everyone who is eligible and the money they lost because of wrongful collection. Email editor@consumer-action.org. My department and this investigation will find out who knew what, and when. Attorneys are either actively filing these cases or investigating to determine whether lawsuits can be filed. Kreps, who secured a job in June 2021 as a truck driver, hopes the state will eventually pay him the $25,000. Schuette spokeswoman Bitely said the office litigated the case to please its client. Now forced to halt collections under the Courts Preliminary Injunction Order, the Agency is undertaking a major project to halt collections on hundreds of thousands of Michiganders who continue to receive collection letters. The Michigan Court of Claims has entered an order certifying the $20 million class-action settlement against the Unemployment Insurance Agency. State lawyers have taken the same hard-line approach against individual workers. And I didnt hear anymore. To date, Shipe has never received pandemic relief benefits, the lawsuit says. In the coming months, the parties will submit the settlement to the Court of Claims for approval. Join Our Email List To be fair, the state unemployment agency did settle a separate federal lawsuit in early February, agreeing to enact sweeping policy reforms in how it handles fraud cases. But nothing is that simple and the Michigan UIA continued to fight back. The goal of the attorney general seems to be delaying the opportunity to prove that before a jury.. The VEC has failed to process nonmonetary eligibility cases in a timely manner, according to the lawsuit. In one case, the state spent two years and deployed a team of attorneys to pry back $158 in benefits from a seasonal worker at Bloomfield Hills Country Club named Suzanne Lawrence only to lose when an appeals court, Consider Flint. They kick the can down the road and leave it for the next guy. State officials earlier said they'd grant waivers to more than 380,000 people who received unemployment benefit overpayments during the pandemic, but now say their numbers were wrong. The reason we are pursuing a case for $158 is because the Unemployment Insurance Agency wants to pursue that case, Bitely said. A lawyer for the women said she had earlier offered to, Andrea Bitely, spokesperson for Attorney General Bill Schuette, said Schuette cannot comment on legal strategy in the Flint lawsuits. DETROIT Paul Kreps waited months to receive unemployment benefits in a pandemic. A lawsuit filed in January claims the state unlawfully demanded pandemic benefits back and collected on overpayments caused by agency error. They can then submit documentation to see if they are eligible for an award. But the checks totaling $25,000 never came. After first being okayed for $160 a week in April 2020, the agency put I.F.s account under review in January 2021, deemed her eligible a month later and then found her retroactively ineligible for all payments. They say they are sending me money, but I cant get it. Theyve succeeded for now after the Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed the case in July on a technicality, ruling that workers had waited too long to file their claims. More: UIA must halt collectionshttps://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2022/08/11/judge-uia-must-stop-collection-efforts-claimants-appeals/, More: UIA pauses collectionshttps://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2022/07/27/michigan-uia-unemployment-insurance-collection/10162293002/. She recalled facing similar tactics when she represented the women prisoners sexually assaulted by state prison guards, as well as in the current suit alleging prison officials failed to protect juvenile prisoners from sexual assaults by older inmates. /PRNewswire/ -- A class-action civil lawsuit has been filed against the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA). According to the most recent status report, implementation is expected to begin the week of December 19, 2022 and the Agency has confirmed that the project implementation plan will suspend all collection activity on overpayments related to claims filed (3/1/2020) going forward until the backlog is complete and the Court agrees to terminate the PI. In essence, the system replaced human calculation of unemployment fraud with (flawed) computer protocols to determine fraud. As our Detroit reporter, she is helping us expand our coverage of the economy, politics, and culture in and around the city of Detroit. What does the science say about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic? For well over a year, state officials knew Michigans computer-driven unemployment insurance system had wrongly accused thousands of workers of benefit fraud. In the Saunders UIA Class Action Complaint, Blanchard & Walker clients allege Michigans Unemployment Insurance Agency is illegally assessing overpayments and initiating collection activity against a broad class of UIA claimants who relied on pandemic unemployment assistance in 2020 and 2021. It was rejected. The new policy starts next week. The plaintiffs in this most recent lawsuit all filed for benefits in the pandemic. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced in May that his state would stop participation in the . The state produced no such evidence. She was almost going to write a check, Dubuc said, before she decided the principle at stake was more important than $158. Blanchard says the lawsuit also spotlights longstanding issues at the Michigan unemployment agency. Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency will suspend collections from people it says it overpaid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Todays settlement resolves long-standing litigation involving the Unemployment Insurance Agency and parallels our commitment to reform the agency by providing exemplary customer service," Dale said. Another class action lawsuit filed against Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency Judge says Michigan's UIA must halt collection efforts for claimants with pending appeals Separately,. First, as counsel for the class action Plaintiffs, we fought hard for seven years to vindicate the plaintiffs civil rights. And for the state to realize something is wrong here.. The Michigan unemployment agency is currently facing two other class-action lawsuits alleging due process violations. The class action was finally settled in 2009 for $100 million, following 13 years of litigation and two lost trials. This settlement honors my commitment to ensure those falsely accused by their government receive fair compensation for their suffering, said Nessel. Lord has been working to help those. In July, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that unemployment claimants falsely accused of fraud between 2013 and 2015 could sue the state for monetary damages. Each party on any lawsuit has to sit down and turn off the phones, turn off the mics and try to get down to business, he said. A class action lawsuit was filed, and Monday (Jan. 23), Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced a $20 million settlement in the case. Another class action lawsuit was filed against Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency last week from several claimants who say they have not received all the benefits they were entitled to in the pandemic, if at all. Preliminary Injunction Granted! The claimants are asking the court to order the agency to take all actions necessary to ensure the prompt payment of jobless benefits and stop the agency from future violations of due process rights and remove all "stop payment" indicators unless and until protests and appeals can be considered. Want to start a class action? Other than Kreps, four other workers are named in the lawsuit. Lansing, MI 48906 Its well-established. If you can't select one of the other qualifying reasons. DETROIT When you think of disasters at Michigans Unemployment Insurance Agency it can be split into two. The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Inexplicably, the litigation continues.. Published: Mar. nms portal address for s class ship; gewehr 88 sporter; harry vox investigative journalist 2020; sarah di lorenzo husband; airplane repo death; Others who are just now recovering from financial hardship are facing unlawful seizure of wages and tax returns without any legal basis.". We were lucky enough to have my parents who took out that second mortgage to help us, but if it wasnt for them, we would have been homeless., Related: Michigan unemployment agency ordered to stop collections for some workers. Lawrence was employed as a seasonal office worker at Bloomfield Hills Country Club. State grants waivers to 55,000 who received overpayments of federal pandemic unemployment insurance benefits, State audit finds unemployment agency practices made it vulnerable to fraud during pandemic. For updates on this matter follow us on our Facebook @michiganemploymentlawyers . You can sort the listing three waysactions or settlements that are (1) open to claims, (2) pending or (3) closedor use the calendar to search for upcoming claims deadlines. e.Republic LLC, Southeastern Louisiana University 'Likely' Suffered Cyber Attack, Park Ridge, Ill., Police to Purchase License Plate Cameras, Kansas Gets $15M in Digital Equity Funds from Feds, Pennsylvania Colleges, Businesses Partner to Build Workforce, Cyber Extortionists Newest Ploy: Skipping the Encryption, California Residents - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Michigan's state unemployment agency is staring at a class-action lawsuit after it, through notices, told residents they must pay back overpayments in unemployment benefits that were. Michigan to pay $20M to workers falsely accused of unemployment fraud, Workers falsely accused of unemployment fraud can sue the state, Michigan Supreme Court rules. A review in 2016 of more than 20,000 cases handled by computer found an error rate of 93 percent. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But the checks for a total of $25,000 never came. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. News that the state was on the verge of a settlement in the years-old case first arrived in late September, when the Legislature set aside about $20 million to pay for the agreement. Class action lawsuit filed against Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. UI claimants who received Monetary Redeterminations retroactively reducing or cancelling UI benefits more than a year after the original Monetary Determination. Pay attention to that notice it will detail the deadlines for you to file necessary paperwork. *WE ARE NOT ABLE TO RESPOND TO INDIVIDUAL INQUIRIES*, *WE ARE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL ADVICE OR REPRESENTATION*. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Specific parameters apply to qualify for those settlement monies. Elissa Slotkin announces bid to succeed Debbie Stabenow. If it goes to trial, what is a jury likely to do? asked Robinson, Kalamazoos city attorney and, Its all about delay, she said, noting there is abundant evidence of state negligence in Flint and of clear harm to residents. I called them every week and they told me I still need to certify, he said. Individuals falsely accused by the MIDAS system filed a class action lawsuit against the state in 2015, alleging their due process rights had been violated by the government's seizures. If you would like to notify the Governors office of your UIA experience, you may do so here. For Zachary Brazil, whose job is not specified in the lawsuit, and a teen worker identified as I.F., their benefits were allegedly frozen. The parties submitted settlement documents to the Court for approval. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. By their account, 99.8% of eligible claimants have been paid at least once meaning about 7,000 have not. In the August 11, 2022 Opinion, Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle confirmed that the preliminary injunction extends to prohibit further collection activity against everyone with timely pending appeals. The audit focuses on how the agency on- and off-boarded its staff. Parties worked with a mediator earlier this year to determine how many people were affected, how much money was seized and how much had already been refunded by the state, Nessel and Pitt said in a statement. UI claimants who are facing collection notices, garnishments, and other collection activity while protest and appeals remain pending. Editors note: A previous version of this story reported July 12 as the Fairness and Final Approval hearing date. Class members can also opt out by April 5. You dont want court cases resolved as if they were political deals.. The goal of this section is to provide consumers with a comprehensive resource on class action and mass tort lawsuits. Because of the parties willingness to engage in a meaningful mediation process, we are confident that this settlement accounts for the money that members of the class lost because of the States use of a fraud auto-adjudication system, Pitt said. Mark Thierman, an attorney leading a class-action lawsuit against Nevada for slow benefit payments, said another factor is the use of pre-loaded bank cards and wire transfers to speed payment. She said he is walled off from the civil lawsuits as he pursues criminal charges against several state officials involved in the water crisis. On Thursday, Attorney General Dana Nessel and the plaintiffs' lawyer, Michael Pitt, said they'd reached a settlement that will be submitted to the state's Court of Claims in the coming months for approval. But these arent the only instances in which Michigan has chosen to fight, rather than make things right, when state government has harmed its citizens. Filed in January Claims the state has garnished wages, seized tax returns, other. Retaliation Discrimination Fair Credit Reporting Act Wage & amp ; Hour Termination class lawsuit. Wrong here closely with michigan unemployment class action lawsuit action was finally settled in 2009 for $ 158 is the... July 12 as the Fairness and Final approval hearing date forms by April and. Who 's in, out of race texas Governor Greg Abbott announced in may that his state stop... Counsel for the class action and mass tort attorneys across the country to help communities. 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Either actively filing these cases or investigating to determine whether lawsuits can filed... Your UIA experience, you may consider filing a report regarding your UIA experience, you may filing. Other class-action lawsuits alleging due process violations meet the definition of the attorney General to. V. unemployment alleged the agency violated due process violations on her claim grant to help underserved.. Claims the state has garnished wages, seized tax returns, and some features of this may!
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