LOS ANGELES, July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Waste Resources of Gardena ("WRG") filed a lawsuit today seeking to protect its rights against unlawful interference with its contract and unfair competition in connection with WRG's commercial waste hauling contract with the City of Gardena. The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California in Los Angeles County against Phoenix Waste & Recycling Services ("Phoenix") and its associates, Haig Papaian and Rouben Kandilian, waste haulers who hold the residential waste hauling contract with Gardena. Haig Papaian and Rouben Kandilian, on behalf of Phoenix, made numerous false statements about WRG's performance in order to cause the City to seek an early termination of the commercial waste hauling contract. Further, Haig Papaian and Rouben Kandilian, using improper relationships with City of Gardena officials, sought to force WRG into giving up its substantive rights, and ultimately, to seek an early termination of the WRG's commercial waste hauling contract. WRG is operated by Kosti Shirvanian, who has over 50 years in the waste management business. Until Phoenix's attempts to interfere with its contract, WRG's performance of its commercial waste hauling contract received strong reviews from City of Gardena officials. After Phoenix began to make false statements about WRG's capabilities, WRG began receiving critical reviews of its performance. Further, Phoenix began to use City of Gardena Councilmembers, including Councilmember Oscar Medrano, to force WRG to give up portions of its contract for the benefit of Phoenix. WRG was threatened with retaliatory action if WRG did not comply with Phoenix's demands. Phoenix ultimately caused the issuance of a five year notice of termination against WRG, which would cause WRG to lose substantially all of the investment that WRG made into providing waste hauling services for Phoenix. WRG is represented by Robert Bonner and Maurice M. Suh, lawyers with the international law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. "Spreading misstatements about WRG's performance under the contract and using City of Gardena officials to extract concessions from WRG is simply wrong," said Maurice Suh, who represents WRG. "Waste hauling contracts are of critical importance to the proper functioning of the City of Gardena, and those contracts should be awarded based upon performance and experience, not upon misstatements and political favoritism." "My career has been about providing cost-effective trash hauling services in an efficient and consumer-friendly manner. I have tried to resolve this matter with City officials, I feel like I have been given no choice except to file this lawsuit," said Kosti Shirvanian. SOURCE Waste Resources of Gardena -0- 07/16/2007 /CONTACT: Pearl Piatt of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, +1-213-299-7963, for Waste Resources of Gardena/ CO: Waste Resources of Gardena; WRG; City of Gardena; Phoenix Waste & Recycling Services; Phoenix; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher ST: California IN: ENV CHM SU: LAW SS-AB -- LAM145 -- 1895 07/16/2007 16:33 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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Showing posts with label Haig Papaian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haig Papaian. Show all posts
7/16/2007
6/14/2007
Gardena City Council weighs trash deal to help company
The firm that picks up residents' garbage is losing money; city leaders may try to help.
By Sandy MazzaStaff Writer (Daily Breeze 06/14/07)
The Gardena City Council rejected a rate-increase request from its residential trash hauler, Phoenix Waste and Recycling Services, but is instead considering suspending $160,000 in fees.
The council voted Tuesday to postpone its decision until the June 26 meeting and asked City Manager Mitch Lansdell to discuss alternatives with the trash hauler, which has said it's financially strapped.
The company is contractually entitled to raise customers' rates by 58 cents a month this year, but it asked for a much larger increase from the current $14.25 a month to $18.36.
Instead, the city proposed suspending two fees charged to the company - for the city's household hazardous waste and recycling compliance programs - totaling $80,000 a year for two years.
The council "directed me to go back to discuss with Phoenix some alternatives to the current proposal of suspending fees for two years. I'm not sure what form that will take," Lansdell said.
He said it may be similar to sales-tax-rebate programs the city has had with other businesses, such as its two card clubs and a Target retail store. In those cases, the companies were expected to return the money when business improved.
"They pay a fee to the city based on their gross receipts. The city returned a portion of that. … When their business grew to a certain level, they paid it back."
Though the city is not required to assist these businesses, it does so "to be a good business partner," Mayor Paul Tanaka said.
"This could be the city's way of `investing' in the trash company with the idea of ensuring their financial well-being so they can do the service needed to be done with no unnecessary (rate) increases," Tanaka said.
Phoenix Waste has struggled with finances and reports of improperly influencing council members since it won the trash-hauling contract in 2005.
The company may have been doomed from the start in bidding on a city proposal that was not viable, Phoenix Waste Vice President Haig Papaian said.
"We made a mistake in our books but not in our service," Papaian said.
He said unexpected increases in gas and dump fees, among other things, have caused the company to lose more than $400,000 a year on this contract.
Phoenix agreed to a low fee - compared with surrounding cities - for its services when it won the contract in 2005 because council members said they would not accept any bidders that would charge more than the monthly rate that the former hauler charged, Lansdell said.
When the city sent out the request for proposals in 2005, Gardena wanted a trash and recycling system that separates solid waste from recyclables for a monthly cost to the consumer of $13.60.
"That was the rate Waste Management was giving at the time," Lansdell said, though he acknowledged that Waste Management did not offer three carts or automated trucks.
Phoenix was the only company that agreed to the low rate. Papaian said he knew the figure was low but thought the company could eventually make a profit.
"We didn't know fuel (and dump fees) would go up that much," Papaian said.
Some residents said they were disappointed with Phoenix Waste's requests for raises above the allowances in their city contract.
"Trash always seems to be a problem in the city," resident Steve Sherman said. "These were business people. … They must not have known what they were doing when they took this contract if they're defaulting now."
Papaian's contributions to council members' campaigns before his company got the contract have become the focus of controversy.
He said he donated to the campaigns of of Mayor Paul Tanaka, Councilman Steve Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson in 2004 because he wanted to contribute to the city, not because he wanted to influence their future votes. None of his direct contributions, which totaled $3,000 to council members, were illegal.
"There were no illegal campaign contributions done. We did not contribute to anyone on this council while we had this contract," Papaian said.
The council gave the city's commercial trash hauler, Waste Resources Inc., a five-year termination notice this year because of complaints with its service, Lansdell said. Lansdell said Waste Resources also asked for a rate increase, and that request will be decided by the council in the next few months.
By Sandy MazzaStaff Writer (Daily Breeze 06/14/07)
The Gardena City Council rejected a rate-increase request from its residential trash hauler, Phoenix Waste and Recycling Services, but is instead considering suspending $160,000 in fees.
The council voted Tuesday to postpone its decision until the June 26 meeting and asked City Manager Mitch Lansdell to discuss alternatives with the trash hauler, which has said it's financially strapped.
The company is contractually entitled to raise customers' rates by 58 cents a month this year, but it asked for a much larger increase from the current $14.25 a month to $18.36.
Instead, the city proposed suspending two fees charged to the company - for the city's household hazardous waste and recycling compliance programs - totaling $80,000 a year for two years.
The council "directed me to go back to discuss with Phoenix some alternatives to the current proposal of suspending fees for two years. I'm not sure what form that will take," Lansdell said.
He said it may be similar to sales-tax-rebate programs the city has had with other businesses, such as its two card clubs and a Target retail store. In those cases, the companies were expected to return the money when business improved.
"They pay a fee to the city based on their gross receipts. The city returned a portion of that. … When their business grew to a certain level, they paid it back."
Though the city is not required to assist these businesses, it does so "to be a good business partner," Mayor Paul Tanaka said.
"This could be the city's way of `investing' in the trash company with the idea of ensuring their financial well-being so they can do the service needed to be done with no unnecessary (rate) increases," Tanaka said.
Phoenix Waste has struggled with finances and reports of improperly influencing council members since it won the trash-hauling contract in 2005.
The company may have been doomed from the start in bidding on a city proposal that was not viable, Phoenix Waste Vice President Haig Papaian said.
"We made a mistake in our books but not in our service," Papaian said.
He said unexpected increases in gas and dump fees, among other things, have caused the company to lose more than $400,000 a year on this contract.
Phoenix agreed to a low fee - compared with surrounding cities - for its services when it won the contract in 2005 because council members said they would not accept any bidders that would charge more than the monthly rate that the former hauler charged, Lansdell said.
When the city sent out the request for proposals in 2005, Gardena wanted a trash and recycling system that separates solid waste from recyclables for a monthly cost to the consumer of $13.60.
"That was the rate Waste Management was giving at the time," Lansdell said, though he acknowledged that Waste Management did not offer three carts or automated trucks.
Phoenix was the only company that agreed to the low rate. Papaian said he knew the figure was low but thought the company could eventually make a profit.
"We didn't know fuel (and dump fees) would go up that much," Papaian said.
Some residents said they were disappointed with Phoenix Waste's requests for raises above the allowances in their city contract.
"Trash always seems to be a problem in the city," resident Steve Sherman said. "These were business people. … They must not have known what they were doing when they took this contract if they're defaulting now."
Papaian's contributions to council members' campaigns before his company got the contract have become the focus of controversy.
He said he donated to the campaigns of of Mayor Paul Tanaka, Councilman Steve Bradford and Councilwoman Rachel Johnson in 2004 because he wanted to contribute to the city, not because he wanted to influence their future votes. None of his direct contributions, which totaled $3,000 to council members, were illegal.
"There were no illegal campaign contributions done. We did not contribute to anyone on this council while we had this contract," Papaian said.
The council gave the city's commercial trash hauler, Waste Resources Inc., a five-year termination notice this year because of complaints with its service, Lansdell said. Lansdell said Waste Resources also asked for a rate increase, and that request will be decided by the council in the next few months.
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