A Florida appeals court has affirmed a 2022 jury verdict awarding a trash-hauling company $3 million in damages as a result of the city of Opa-locka’s bad-faith handling of a solid waste contract.
The Third District Court of Appeal issued the decision affirming the jury verdict in favor of Universal Waste Services of Florida Inc. (UWS) on Aug. 28. The court also rejected the city’s request for a rehearing on the matter earlier this month.
In a two-page opinion, the appeals court simply cited previous state court rulings to counter city officials’ argument that the jury’s verdict was inconsistent. The jury supported several of the city’s affirmative defenses and concluded that UWS failed to provide a performance bond to the city.
In the case of an inconsistent jury verdict, the side alleging the inconsistency is required to raise its concerns prior to the discharge of the jury, according to the appeals court decision. The appeals court cannot substitute its judgment for that of a jury verdict when no objection was made during the jury proceeding, the opinion states.
The legal team representing UWS said the trash hauler was brought in to help the city in 2015 and 2016, when Opa-locka was going through a period of corruption. UWS took over what the plaintiff’s attorneys said were mismanaged solid waste contracts, based on a promise of a future contract renewal.
UWS invested $3.5 million in new equipment after taking over from a previous trash collection company. Opa-locka officials, however, eventually declined to renew the UWS contract. During the jury trial, attorneys for UWS said city officials had been attempting to extort bribes in return for an extension of the UWS contract.
Witnesses during the trial said UWS’s investments had led to the “miraculous” clean-up of the city’s past mismanagement, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys.
UWS officers Joe Spiezio IV and Mike Gianatasio both expressed satisfaction with the appeals court’s actions. Municipal vendors can now expect better treatment in the wake of the city being held accountable, the company officials said.
Representing UWS in the legal proceedings were Michael A. Pizzi, Benedict P. Kuehne and Michael T. Davis. Johan Dos Santos of Kuehne Davis Law P.A. and David P. Reiner of Reiner and Reiner P.A. assisted the team.
“The jury’s condemnation of the city’s misconduct stands as a warning to municipal officials to conduct the people’s business with transparency and in good faith,” the legal team said in a joint statement emailed to the Florida Record. “The message of the case, which the jury verdict affirmed, is that there are serious consequences for municipalities that act in bad faith when dealing with contract vendors.”
Opa-locka officials did not respond to a request for comment on the appeals court’s opinion.
Attorneys for the city argued in court briefs that UWS was not entitled to any damages for the city’s alleged bad-faith actions because the company fraudulently induced Opa-locka officials to enter into what’s called an assumption agreement when UWS took over for a previous trash hauler. No assignment of the previous contractor’s municipal agreements to UWS actually occurred, according to the city’s arguments.
The jury also found that UWS failed to pay to the city franchise fees prior to any of the alleged bad-faith dealings taking place.