MLM Counties News. Notices. Need-to-know Information.
An appeals court affirmed an award of $5.9 million to three trash hauling companies that lost out when St. Louis County formed new trash districts without giving the haulers the notice state law requires.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District rejected the county’s argument that the law didn’t apply to it and the county’s challenges to lost profits evidence.
The three-judge panel also rejected the haulers’ argument appealing the damages amount, which was far lower than the $23 million they originally sought when they filed the lawsuit in 2008. Judge Robert Clayton III wrote the opinion and Judges Patricia L. Cohen and Roy L. Richter agreed to it.
In 2010, St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Barbara Wallace entered a summary judgment order in favor of the haulers. Then, in September 2011, Wallace awarded a combined judgment of nearly $1.1 million.
In August 2012, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld Wallace’s ruling that the county had violated state law but sent the case back to the circuit for a new trial on the damages.
After the new trial, Wallace awarded $4,944,790 to Waste Management of Missouri; $593,489 to American Eagle Waste Industries and $384,486 to Meridian Waste Services.
The appeals court case is American Eagle Waste Industries, Meridian Waste Services and Waste Management of Missouri v. St. Louis County Missouri, ED101373.
