San Martin
– A former tow truck operator who has hauled hundreds of people
from Gilroy and other parts of California into small claims court
has been declared a
”
vexatious litigant.
”
San Martin – A former tow truck operator who has hauled hundreds of people from Gilroy and other parts of California into small claims court has been declared a “vexatious litigant.”
The legal status means that Paul Greer and his now-defunct B&C Towing, which operated in the Gilroy-Hollister region, can no longer file a lawsuit in California unless a court first reviews and approves the case.
In a 12-page ruling issued Monday afternoon, San Martin Superior Court Judge Teresa Guerrero-Daley wrote that “B&C repeatedly filed unmeritorious motions, pleadings or other papers and engaged in other tactics that are frivolous, including, but not limited to, the prosecution of small claims actions against defendants B&C knew or should have known were not liable for the claims asserted against them.”
Greer announced in court that he planned to appeal the decision, but could not be reached for further comment. Immediately after the hearing he went into a closed-door conference with Dale Lohman, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney in the major fraud division. Lohman did not return a call for comment.
“Based on what I’ve seen in terms of fraudulent proofs of service and certificates of mailing, I am glad to see that (Greer’s) access to the court system has been constrained,” said Scott Maurer, a consumer rights attorney at the Alexander Community Law Center in Santa Clara.
The decision caps a months-long case originally brought by Greer, 30, against Copart Inc., an automobile salvage company. During the case, Copart presented evidence suggesting Greer altered and forged documents related to lawsuits filed against other defendants.
Greer, who now lives in Clovis, won a majority of his cases by default when defendants failed to appear in court. Some defendants never received word of the tow and sale of their cars until hundreds or thousands of dollars in storage fees had been racked up, according to Copart attorney Greg Adler, who interviewed dozens of defendants as he put together the vexatious litigant motion.
“In all the cases I reviewed, I didn’t find one instance of a defendant saying they received proper notice that the car had been towed and disposed of,” Adler said. “This is a $2,100 case for Copart. We’re a $3 billion company. This whole thing has been about stopping this from continuing for the benefit of the community members who have been victimized.”
Greer has filed a handful of suits against Copart and other large automobile parts and insurance companies, but the vast majority of his cases have been against individual car owners. Since 2003, he has filed at least 363 small claims suits in San Benito and Santa Clara counties, according to a Dispatch investigation. Court records show that Greer won all but a handful of his cases at an average of $2,400 per case.
Many of the cases were filed months or years after a defendant disposed of a vehicle. The court victories often hinged on legal technicalities involving the proper filing of title transfer papers. In addition to raising questions about his legal arguments, the Dispatch investigation and the vexatious litigant motion uncovered a trail of altered and potentially forged documents that suggest some defendants were robbed of a fair day in court.
In particular, the Dispatch found evidence a court summons was delivered to an empty apartment and a court order to levy a bank account was altered.
It remains unclear if Greer will face criminal charges over the alleged forgeries and other questionable business documents.
The Monday decision does not apply to Professional Collections, a company Greer created to collect debts for B&C Towing and other creditors. Though Professional Collections remains free to file lawsuits in California, questions have been raised about the legality of a collection agency filing claims in small claims court. Typically, attorneys, collection agencies and other so-called “third parties” are not allowed to appear in small claims court. Only the original debtor and creditor are allowed to litigate a small claims case.
Monday’s ruling applies to both small claims and superior courts across the state. Adler said such rulings are generally open to appeal only in the event of “errors involving pure legal questions,” such as whether the court had jurisdiction to handle the case.
“I’m confident the ruling will stand,” he said.
Jada Wayman, one of the hundreds of defendants Greer has hauled into court, said she planned to sue him for fraud. She claims to have never received proper notice when a car registered to her name was towed several years ago. She lost an $1,800 case to Greer in San Benito County Superior Court in 2004.
“I was pretty certain what the verdict was going to be,” Wayman said of Monday’s ruling. “That was a delight for all the defendants. It’s sweet justice.”
