Gwinnett denies it’s obligated to pay failed garbage contract

Gwinnett County has filed a response in a multi-million-dollar suit brought by Waste Pro for damages related to the county’s suspended solid waste plan.

In papers filed in Fulton County Superior Court, Gwinnett County denies allegations that it is obligated to assume a contract the company entered into with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, the county’s agent in administering the solid waste plan. It also denies the company is entitles to any damages.

Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Michael Clark granted an injunction to halt the plan before its implementation Jan. 1. The judge ruled that Gwinnett County improperly gave GC&B governmental authority in implementing the solid waste plan. A final ruling in that case has been set for late April.

As a result of the injunction, the two haulers selected to collect garbage in unincorporated Gwinnett, Waste Pro and Advanced Disposal, lost out on a customer base of some 90,000 households each.

Waste Pro says the county and GC&B have acted in bad faith and have been “stubbornly litigious,” causing it unnecessry trouble and expense.

Waste Pro is seeking damages of at least $40 million. It says the expense of buying extra equipment and assembling a work force in preparation for servicing the area amounted to more than $12 million.

Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, named as a co-defendant in the suit, is expected to file a response to the allegations by the end of next week.