Oliver Roberts Jr., Arnulfo Quintana v. Roger Barnett, et al.
Published: Aug. 5, 2000 | Result Date: Jul. 13, 2000 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: C330397 – $1,455,270
Judge
Court
Pima Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
Oliver Roberts Jr. own a small trucking company in Casa Grande, Ariz. called R&R Enterprises. Arnulfo Quintana was his driver driving an 18-wheeler truck hauling a load of lumber when the trailer became stuck on a forest road in the Chracuahua Mountains in southeast Arizona near the New Mexico border. Quintana obtained the services of a towing company out of New Mexico. The defendants, who run a towing business, were called to the scene by the Cochise County Sheriff's office but were later canceled before reaching the disabled trailer when the Sheriff's office learned that the New Mexico tow company was at the scene. Despite the cancellation, the defendants continued to the scene to demand payment for dispatching wreckers. At the scene, Troy Barnett blocked the tractor/trailer rig with his two wreckers and seized the rig. Over Quintana's protests, Troy Barnett had the tractor/trailer towed to Barnett's Towing in Tucson. Roger Barnett and Mike Eickmeyer kept the tractor/trailer at the Tucson yard for more than two and a half months until the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit and posted a judicial bond. The plaintiffs were unable to pay the defendants' towing and storage charges of over $8,000. Roberts did pay $2,500 to Barnett's Towing and provided a substitute trailer in order to deliver the load of lumber Quintana had been hauling when the defendants seized the equipment. One month after Roberts paid the defendants $2,500, Roger Barnett filed a Report of Abandoned Vehicle with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division to obtain title to Roberts' tractor. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit seeking damages for assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with contract relations, conversion, racketeering and punitive damages. The defendants filed a counterclaim of breach of contract for unpaid towing and storage charges of $8,150.
Settlement Discussions
Before trial, the plaintiffs offered to settle for $110,000. The defendants offered $11,000. Neither was accepted, and no further settlement discussions ensued.
Other Information
Before trial, the court found that the defendant had no legal basis to hold Roberts' tractor and tailer and granted partial summay judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on the conversion claim. At trial, three officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety testified that the defendants, who were contacted by the Sheriff's office because their company was on a tow truck rotation list, had no right to demand payment for services because no services had been provided to the plaintiffs. Roberts testified that he had substantial business losses, including lost hauling contracts and customers, because of the conversion. Quintana testified that he lost his job with Roberts because he had no truck to drive.
Deliberation
six hours
Length
six days
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