Company demands damages from city for 'libelous claims'

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By Alex Bridges - abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- A local taxi company claims the city Police Department hurt its business last year by letting a competitor run cabs illegally.

Now representatives of Exectrans and Courier Service LLC, which does business as Yellow Cab of Winchester, want the city to pay $252,500 in damages to cover lost revenue and legal expenses. That amount includes damages of $40,000 for "libelous claims" printed in The Winchester Star and The Northern Virginia Daily, according to the claim served on city officials Monday.

Yellow Cab claims that the city and Police Chief Kevin Sanzenbacher "negligently and tortiously allowed Benish Corp. dba Royal Cab and Limo ("Royal Cab") to operate in Winchester." Damages sought stem from incidents alleged to have taken place between October 2008 and September 2009, the claim states.

According to the new claim, Royal Cab illegally operated in Winchester for at least eight months before the business filed an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity required of taxi companies to operate in the city.

Assistant City Manager Anne Lewis said Tuesday she had no comment on the claim because of potential litigation.

Earlier in January, Yellow Cab served a claim against the commissioners of revenue and treasurers offices in Winchester and Frederick County seeking nearly $100,000 related to the recent seizure of two taxis over unpaid personal property taxes.

The most recent claim states that the Police Department knew that illegal providers were in Winchester but "did nothing until Yellow Cab complained at least 10 times" to the agency.

"When finally told to cease operations by the WPD, Police Officials discovered that Royal Cab was employing Violent Convicted Sex Offenders and dispatching them into Winchester," the claim states.

Yellow Cab asked Sanzenbacher to enforce the taxi laws but he "refused to comply citing a 'free market' and 'capitalism' mantra," according to the claim. The company alleges that the chief knew Royal Cab employed convicted violent sex offenders but issued the certificate anyway.

"Chief Sanzenbacher and City Council hid the fact that Convicted Violent Sex Offenders were driving cabs in Winchester ... from the other Cab companies and the general public by using closed door meetings with our attorney to ensure that no facts of this matter leaked to the Cab Companies or the general public," the claim states.

The company also claims Sanzenbacher caused it to suffer damages by letting Logisticare Solutions Inc. send "illegitimate Taxicab Services to Winchester and operate while Logisticare still owed drastically late past due balances to Yellow Cab of Winchester which provided the major local services for Medicaid Transportation in 2008."

Yellow Cab has asked the city to pay this new claim by Feb. 15 to avoid further legal action.