Tartan Towing files countersuit against city

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This article was published 26/11/2023 (700 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local towing company has filed a counterclaim against the City of Winnipeg over its recent lawsuit alleging the firm had bilked taxpayers.

Tartan Towing instead claims it was the municipal government that breached its contracts — and owes the company damages.

The city filed its lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench against Tartan in late June, claiming the company had billed for more than $1.1 million for tows it either did not perform or recorded improperly in 2016-22 and was overpaid with taxpayer dollars.

The city is seeking $1,115,626, plus costs and special damages.

In Tartan’s statement of defence and counterclaim (filed recently by lawyers Faron J. Trippier and Irina Vakurova), the company denies the allegations, arguing instead the court should award it damages for the city breaching contracts, as well as court costs.

“Tartan providing the towing services and submitted its invoices pursuant to the contracts,” the towing company’s court documents say. “The facts are, that at all material times, Tartan reported and billed to the city acting honestly and in good faith.”

Further, the Higgins Avenue tow truck operation argues, the city and Tartan have since reconciled and agreed on the invoices and payments, so it can defend itself on the grounds of satisfaction.

The city’s allegations relate to three contracts for courtesy towing during snow removal, street cleaning and standalone operations. “Courtesy tows” involve moving vehicles to nearby locations without charge to the owners, such as during a residential parking ban.

The contracts dictated the city pay the company on a per-tow basis and the company to track each tow on an app.

The city paid up based on those reports between 2016 and 2022, until a January 2022 civic review of courtesy tows during a December 2021 residential parking ban reported a large discrepancy between the number of parking tickets issued (about 3,200) and the number of courtesy tows the company reported (about 13,000).

The city further reviewed its data and discovered a “significant number of reported tows” paid for were either invalid or not reported in accordance with the contracts, the city’s court papers say.

According to its court documents, the City of Winnipeg demanded repayment from the tow company in November 2022 — but has received no cash back to date.

Tartan claims the city’s demand of the cash was in itself a breach of contract, and the civic government failed to compensate Tartan for services worth more than $730,000.

The towing company’s lawyers say the city failed to bring its claim in a timely manner. Tartan is obligated to keep records for two years, so due to the passage of time, evidence and the ability of witnesses to recollect the incidents are spoiled, the court papers say.

Among other arguments, the towing company says in the documents if the city suffered any damages, it was due to the government failing to fulfill its obligations under the contracts to monitor and supervise the program and invoicing process.

In its counterclaim, Tartan argues the city owes it damages, as it was on the city to monitor the reporting app and report any discrepancies, which it claims the government failed to do.

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Tartan also argues in the counterclaim the City of Winnipeg failed to fairly assess an 18-month towing services tender it issued in December 2022, which Tartan bid for but was not awarded.

The municipal government’s lawsuit came after city council’s executive policy committee rejected a settlement in March that would have had Tartan pay back less than half the disputed amount — $446,000 — that had been proposed by civic officials, who argued it would save on legal costs.

In March, the public service report on the proposed settlement said the company dismissed some drivers and warned others to carefully report each tow. The city now regularly reviews reported tows and payments, the report said.

Neither the city government or Tartan’s arguments have been heard in court.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.