Republic: Clueless Stanley Mayfield is a Useful Idiot for Bob Gregory's Maniacal Plan to Ruin Republic Services' San Angelo Trash Contract

SAN ANGELO, TX — Attorneys for Republic Services argued that the two opposing litigants, Texas Disposal Systems CEO Bob Gregory and Mayfield Paper’s CEO Stanley Mayfield, and the companies they represent, Acme Iron and Metal and Mayfield Paper, do not provide “adequacy” to represent a class of other businesses allegedly harmed by Republic’s overcharging of commercial trash customers.

Bob Gregory, Republic argues, is pursuing Acme’s claims against Republic solely to enhance his business position against a longtime competitor, Republic. He doesn’t share the same interest of a typical San Angelo business that is not Republic’s direct competitor.

As for the co-plaintiff, Mayfield Paper’s CEO Stanley Mayfield, he doesn’t have a clue why he is suing Republic, the Republic’s lawyers argued. More on this later.

The lawsuit, Acme Iron & Metal Company, a D/B/A of TxAlloy, Inc.; and Mayfield Paper vs. Republic Services, seeks to remedy the charging of fuel and environmental recovery fees by Republic since 1989. The use of the noun “Republic” refers to the current company and the previous companies that were bought-out by Republic over the years, including Trash-Away and Duncan Disposal.

The lawsuit is part of a scheme launched by Gregory after his trash company, Texas Disposal Systems, lost the bid to be the City of San Angelo's exclusive trash collection company, Republic argued.

Once Texas Disposal called them out on it, and public sentiment was leaning against them, Republic Services refunded $6.3 million to San Angelo businesses in 2014 for charging for those fees since the beginning of the 2004 contract. That contract gave Republic exclusivity in the commercial trash collection market inside the confines of the City of San Angelo. Because there was no free enterprise regulating the price Republic charged, the contract required Republic to obtain City approval for any extra fees attached to Republic Services invoices.

No one can find a record of City approval for Republic’s charging of any of those fees. The voluntary refunds were announced just prior to the San Angelo City Council awarding Republic a new 10-year contract that ends on July 2024. In the new contract, Texas Disposal Systems alleges, Republic raised the commercial trash collection rates by 72 percent to in part pay for the refunds.

In Texas, the bar is high to prove a class for a class action lawsuit, Republic argued. And Acme/Mayfield failed to reach that bar in district court here, so the plaintiffs appealed the lower court’s decision to disallow a class to the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals.

Thursday, oral arguments were heard by the 3rd Court of Appeals at the Tom Green County Courthouse from both Acme/Mayfield’s and Republic’s attorneys on whether the higher court should overturn the district court’s ruling.

Republic’s attorney, Amanda Taylor, first presented the argument that San Angelo businesses are presumably savvy enough to understand invoices. Each business saw their invoices and could have complained. But over the years, only one business is on record of complaining about the extra fees, in 2011. That business is likely Kool Smiles, a dental clinic on Sherwood Way, and part of a large chain. The company employed an auditor who quickly made minced meat out of the fuel and environmental recovery fee charges and had them removed from the bill and future invoices. See this story for more.

The rest of San Angelo businesses sat back and just took it with no complaints, Taylor said. If the businesses didn’t care they were getting charged those extra fees, why would they care now?

Taylor noted that all commercial enterprises invoice their customers, so a business organization should be familiar with how invoices are constructed and what is being charged in them. She also noted that Republic billed in advance for their services. So, if a business had a concern about the invoice, it didn’t have to accept the services for the proceeding billing period.

Taylor then argued that the entire appeal can be thrown out based upon the concept of adequacy alone. Bob Gregory is a competitor of Republic and is using the courts to gain an edge on his foe, she said. Gregory’s interests aren’t aligned with the typical San Angelo business.

But Taylor saved most of her firepower for co-plaintiff Stanley Mayfield.

Taylor depicted Mayfield, a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and respected leader of the San Angelo business community, as a clueless bystander who doesn’t understand even the basic reasons for the lawsuit.

“In depositions, Mayfield was unable to articulate which contract was involved,” Taylor argued in court.

But she launches a bombing campaign against Mayfield in the brief sent to the 3rd Court of Appeals.

“His lack of genuine interest in achieving meaningful relief on behalf of putative class members is best demonstrated by the fact that (1) he knows nothing about the claims he has brought, and (2) he has zero financial stake,” Taylor’s Republic brief states.

“He had no familiarity with the 2004 City ordinance, which underlies the Plaintiffs’ claims for overcharges between 2004-2014…He did not know if the ordinance reflected the rates that Plaintiffs alleged should have been charged, nor did he know what amounts Plaintiffs alleged were actually charged versus should have been charged,” it continues.

Taylor wrote that Mayfield didn’t know if his company paid monthly bills to Republic and that he had “no idea” when Mayfield was first charged a fuel fee by Republic.

Taylor said Mayfield admitted in his deposition that he assumed Texas Disposal Systems was paying attorneys fees for the lawsuit and TDS attorneys working this case have not been in contact with Mayfield until May 2016, two years after the lawsuit was filed.

Taylor’s remarks about Mayfield were intended to buttress her argument that like Gregory, but for different reasons, Mayfield’s interests diverge from those of class members, other San Angelo businesses.

Taylor used Mayfield’s testimony in the deposition against him. Mayfield said his motivation in joining the lawsuit was based upon, in part, his “long friendship with Jim and Bobby Gregory of TDS.”

In rebuttal, Acme/Mayfield attorney Jim Hemphill argued, “Mayfield knows the basic facts.” He is typical of a client who has been mistreated by Republic Services, Hemphill said.

Turning to the basis for the appeal, Hemphill said the overcharges were an abuse of discretion and that Republic failed to follow the law by failing to obtain permission from the City Council for the extra charges over the years. “Abuse of discretion has a high standard, but in this case, which is a very unique case, those standards are met,” he said.

After the hearing, Acme/Mayfield attorney David King said that in the deposition Mayfield did not sound the way depicted by Republic’s attorney. It was probably his first deposition, King said. And Mayfield was informed about the basic facts of the lawsuit and the reasons it was filed, he said.

Thursday, three of the six justices on the 3rd Court of Appeals heard the oral arguments of the appeal here in San Angelo. They were Chief Justice Jeff Rose, Justice Melissa Goodwin, and Justice Scott Field. Field is facing an opponent in November, Democrat and Travis County Assistant DA Chari Kelly. The other justices’ terms expire in 2020.