Hollister
– A month after the Free Lance reported on a local towing
company’s numerous small claims court lawsuits throughout San
Benito County and the surrounding areas, many defendants continue
to let his lawsuits go unchallenged.
Hollister – A month after the Free Lance reported on a local towing company’s numerous small claims court lawsuits throughout San Benito County and the surrounding areas, many defendants continue to let his lawsuits go unchallenged.
Former B & C Towing company owner Paul Greer has come under fire from dozens of those he has sued, but the former county resident said he is simply trying to make a living. One attorney, who represents a client Greer has sued, is considering a class action lawsuit that would force Greer to pay back the defendants snared in what the lawyer calls an illegal small claims scheme.
When Greer sued Copart, a Fairfield-based company that sells salvage cars to wreckers and dismantlers, for towing and storage fees the company’s attorney Greg Adler took a stand. Adler believes Greer is filing the suits purposely against the wrong person in a “scheme of fleecing hundreds of innocent defendants.”
He currently is challenging Greer’s suit against Copart in Santa Clara County on the grounds that Copart sold the car, filed a release of liability and should not be held responsible for what happened to the car after it was sold. Although Greer’s case against Copart is still pending, Adler said the case could develop into something much larger than a $2,500 small claims case.
“This could become much bigger,” he said. “A class action suit is a possibility in the future.”
Adler said he has talked with more than 30 defendants sued under similar circumstances by Greer and is working with State Farm and other companies to stop Greer from filing additional suits. However, while the case works its way through the legal system, some Hollister residents continue to settle with Greer instead of hiring costly attorneys to fight back.
Last Friday Sylvia Vallejo and her mother Maria settled a small claims lawsuit with Greer after a year of frustration stemming from the sale of their 1971 Ford Van.
Maria, a local cannery worker, sold the van to a friend in 2005. Shortly after selling the car, the new owner was arrested for driving under the influence. The car was towed by Greer’s now defunct company B&C Towing. After the car racked up $2,500 in storage fees, Greer filed a lien against Maria’s car. When she didn’t come to collect the car, he sued her in San Benito County Small Claims Court. Maria never showed up to court and Greer won a default judgment against her. Maria, who speaks little English, then entered into a contract with Greer to pay off the storage fees on the car she sold. After making payments for several months, Maria discovered that Greer’s Hollister office had closed and she could no longer make payments. Eventually, after months of frustration and anxiety, Vallejo drove her mother to Greer’s Clovis office and settled the suit for $2,500.
“It was traumatic, he harassed us and threatened to put a lien on my mother’s home,” Vallejo said. “I would have rather taken him to court, but I just wanted this whole thing to go away.”
Greer, who has filed more than 300 similar small claims cases in San Benito and Santa Clara Counties during the last three years, said he was trying to make a living.
“I feel sympathetic for her. I’d be pissed off if I was in her position,” he said. “But it’s state law and I have to make money to survive.”
Because Maria never filed a release of liability with the Department of Motor Vehicles, she was held responsible for the car and everything that happened to it, Greer said.
During the last year, Greer has come under fire from several local officials and major insurance companies. Both Mercury and State Farm are appealing Greer’s lawsuits against them for storage fees for vehicles the companies sold. San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield is also planning to investigate the nature of Greer’s legal work and possible abuses of the small claims system.
Greer, who operates a collections business in Clovis, is undaunted by the criticism.
“I make my living through collections,” he said. “I do profit from suing people, but that’s not my No. 1 priority.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
