GALVESTON – Two local vehicle towing services are suing the city for breach of contract, state district court records show.
In a 22-page complaint filed on Sept. 18 in the Galveston County 122nd District Court, Emmanuel Kastis, doing business as Ace of Galveston, and Julie Molis, doing business as 51st Street Towing, contest the defendant’s revocation of their vehicle tow service rotation permits.
The lawsuit shows that the plaintiffs were previously part of a rotation system devised by the city in accordance to an ordinance regulating tow truck operators. Through the Galveston Police Department, a company is assigned a rotation number and is dispatched to a scene if they are at the top of the list.
“The ordinance allows for 14 tow truck companies on the city’s rotation list,” the suit explains. “The city has elected to classify it rotation system and the relationship between the city and tow truck companies on the rotation list as a contractual relationship.”
Court documents claim the plaintiffs’ licenses were revoked three months ago because of “overcharges done at and by a new staff person at the vehicle storage facility and not by the plaintiffs’ respective tow companies.”
“As a result of the revocation, the plaintiffs are prohibited to from performing the service to towing a disabled vehicle from the public streets of Galveston, Texas,” the suit says. “This has resulted in a substantial lose (sic) of income to both plaintiffs.”
Consequently, the complainants seek unspecified monetary damages.
They are represented by Jonathan E. Bruce of the Law Office of Jonathan E. Bruce in Houston.
Galveston County 122nd District Court Case No. 18-CV-1291