Coastal Post Online
October 2000
West Marin's garbage company, Waste Management,-a huge nationwide garbage conglomerate-got bad news from Sonoma County Superior Court on September 27. Judge Knoel Owen, for the second time, rejected Waste Management's efforts to keep alleged evidence of its criminal history out of a lawsuit pending against it and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
The decision , in a case brought by the Independent Waste Recovery Association (IWRA), allows evidence of Waste Management's corporate criminal history to be considered in determining whether the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors improperly transferred exclusive waste-hauler franchises from Larry's Sanitary Service and Cloverdale Disposal when Waste Management acquired those companies.
At a hearing on December 6, 1999 the IWRA challenged the transfer of the licenses from Larry's and Cloverdale to Waste Management citing Waste Management's long criminal history and numerous civil and administrative actions spanning almost 20 years. The IWRA alleged that allowing an entity with Waste Management's criminal history to obtain the exclusive waste-hauling franchises would not be in the public interest. Supervisors are required to find that any license transfer be in the "public interest" and that the terms of the transfer must be just and reasonable.
Other communities throughout the country have considered this issue and entities such as the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors have refused to transfer licenses to Waste Management citing the company's long-term criminal history.
At the September 27, 2000 hearing Waste Management argued before Judge Owen to throw out the IWRA lawsuit and strike the allegations regarding its criminal history. Waste Management vehemently reasserted its contention that the only inquiry relevant to the Court's analysis was whether it was capable of picking up the garbage. John Smith, Waste Management's attorney, stated that Waste Management's alleged criminal conduct was simply not relevant to the decision as to whether to transfer the license. The Court disagreed, stating it was relevant to the public interest issue of the license transfer.
Immediately following the hearing, Waste Management's General Manager, James Landa, and its Public Affairs Manager, Ken Foley (the Mayor of Sebastopol), angrily left the hearing with their attorneys.
Hans Herb, the IWRA's attorney, stated, "Waste Management has already informed me that they intend to sue for libel and slander because of the lawsuit." Herb said he would welcome such a suit since it would provide yet another opportunity to explore Waste Management's criminal history. "The true is a complete defense and I have no doubt we can prove the truth of our allegations," he added.