Richard's Disposal filed a notice of appeal and complaint against the Jackson City Council in Hinds County Circuit Court this afternoon. The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Adrienne Wooten.
The New Orleans company asked the court to reverse the City Council's rejection of the company's proposal for garbage collection services. The complaint states:
2. The City Council's decision must be overturned because (1) the decision to not approve the contract between the City and RDI is not supported by substantial evidence in that Richard's submitted the most qualified proposal based on the factors in the October 2021 RFP; (2) The Council's decision was arbitrary and capricious as it violates clear statutory requirements; (3) the Council's decision was beyond its scope or powers in that it violates clear statutory requirements; and (4) the Council's decision violated clear statutory requirements for public procurement of garbage and solid waste services.
The complaint argues the Council voted for the "twice-per-week" garbage collection option at the lowest price. Mayor Lumumba selected Richard's Disposal for the new contract. However, the Council rejected the contract. The Mayor issued an emergency no-bid one-year contract to the company that was later ruled to be invalid. The contract expired April 1, 2023.
Richard's Disposal accused the Council of acting "arbitrary and capricious" in rejecting the contract. The complaint claims:
i. The Council disapproved the contract without cause. However, the individual council members consistently revealed that they relied upon their own will and disregarded surrounding facts and the published RFP. Exhibits 7.1, 7.7,7.8, 7.10, 7.13.
ii. One Council member said, "we wanted to avoid confusion and made it clear that we wanted to see a contract on the twice a week option without a cart." Yet, the Council Minutes reflect that the Council made it clear that it wanted twice a week with or without a card. Exhibits 2, 7.2, 7.8. (KF: This is the first time carts are mentioned in the complaint.)
iii. Another Council member disagreed with the weight of evaluation factors in the RFP and the Best Practice Statute, desiring to substitute his own weighted criteria. Exhibit 7.5.
iv. Council members wanted to negotiate and select their preferred contractor. Exhibits 7.9, 8, and 9.
v. Still, another Council member wanted the Council to participate in the RFP evaluation committee. Exhibit 9.
vi. On April 1, 2023, a Council member moved to amend to the order presented by the Mayor to substitute "waste management" instead of" Richard's in the Order and proposed contract.
vii. Another time this contract award was all about a subcontractor.
Exhibit 9.
60 comments:
Can the city council file with the MS Supreme Court a lawsuit is claiming that the Mayor is derelict in his duty?
This is insane. The council would be violating the law to approve that contract. The plot thickens.
I’ve called contacted a friend at ABC New York to please come cover this.
In a sane world it would be dismissed for failure to state a claim. Unfortunately Hinds County is anything but.
How many lawsuits does the Mayor intend on losing?
I almost wish he'd represent himself. Save the City some attorneys fees.
Richard’s is a disgrace. They never had a legal contract!
The attorney for Richards is Saul Goodman? Has to be, because no reputable lawyer would try to sue for a contract that they weren't going to get after four straight times the council followed state law and said no...
I have to give it to those idiots in the city that continue to support this clown in charge. He claims to be in favor of the citizens but continues to try to be a dictator...
If he really was concerned about this city he would follow the law and move on. Apparently he has some sort of financial interest in getting Richards the contract that would lead to this lack of leadership...
I have already bought a house in Madison and am getting out of this nuthouse of a city, when water runs clean, streets are smooth and garbage is collected...
Let the ignorant electorate destroy the state capital and prove all the things the rest of the country thinks of Mississippi...
"There are lots of places in Mississippi where there is no running water and no garbage pickup." "Yep, in the state capital..."
What the hell is a "notice of appeal and complaint"? It's either an appeal on the record, or it's a complaint to initiate litigation. I think the circuit court either sits in appellate jurisdiction, or it does not.
Also, the statute only gives the circuit court two choices on appeal: 1) affirm the city's decision, or 2) reverse the city's decision. I don't see where the statute provides for damages.
Apparently, the decision on appeal is the counsel's decision to not approve the contract presented by the mayor on April 1.
Are they going to start picking up garbage again without a contract?
Didn’t stop them last time.
And, somehow they got paid for it.
I can't WAIT for discovery!
The governor needs to call a special session and the legislature needs to revoke Jackson’s municipal charter. Start it over.
@6:19 I hope your friend reports what is going on before the Gov has to step in and restore civility. The nation needs to see that the State is not at fault before the narrative turns ugly.
If this case is ruled to have merit, then people should be able to sue the lottery commission for not winning the powerball.
Timing suspicious. Agenda item #2. Lumumba effectively announcing another emergency contract w/ RDI while indirectly snubbing a 3-month duration for same. Lindsay tipped hand during short Council meeting revealing deliberations between unnamed parties over the weekend. All choreographed.
I know I'm stating the obvious, but when someone pushes this hard for something - against all rational behavior - there HAS to be more going on behind the curtain! Richard's has too much to gain / Baby Chok has too much to lose....but either way, there simply HAS to be some sort of "agreement" between the two. A rational politician would have let this go a LONG time ago.
Since the Mayor knows the law, did he assist in drafting this suit against the COJ?
So Richard’s thinks the court can force the council to accept a contract bid that didn’t score the highest and that the council must accept the 96 gallon deal even though the the council had a choice between different offers with different service parameters. Alice Through the Looking Glass. Up is down and down is up. But it is the City of Jackson, so maybe it makes sense in the alternate universe in which Jackson seems to function. Nah. This claim will fail, if not at the trial level, at the Mississippi Supreme Court.
State isn't stepping in this time. City on its own.
I know a "few" lawyers around town. Never heard of the Walker Group. Any intel on this firm? Competent?
Let’s watch this drag on for three years.
I wish I was the law firm representing the garbage company with its hands in Jackson’s Clown faced mayor. I also wonder what he looks like without that WIG on his head.
Lubumba says:
Well, I won't back down
No, I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
No, I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down
Yep. Tate wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. You see how they flipped the script on the state after they tried to help with the water recently. Let Rome burn.
The mayor is anything BUT a leader. What a joke for everyone to see.
As my home value drops because no one wants to move into Jackson, can I sue the mayor?
6:48, it’s appeal, so there shouldn’t be any discovery. Whatever it is in this pleading that seeks damages should be dismissed.
Don’t call ABC or any national media! The friggen water fiasco proves they won’t tell the truth!
And KF you’re right! Trash the carts!!!
Free the land!
Free the water!
Free the trash!
Jokeway could phuck up making a peanut butter & jelly sandwich
Where can I find some cheap property in Jackson. Asking for a friend.
Councilman spent over $200K in attorney fees to get to this?! Now they only have $400 left to cover legal fees in the Richard’s lawsuit? I feel like I’m watching an SNL skit
RDI relies on the language in Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(r) that says that "the governing authority or agency shall select the most qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other relevant factors," and from this argues that the council had to award the contract and its decision not to was arbitrary, capricious, "illegal," and violated RDI's "statutory rights." But the very next sentence of the statute says: "If the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals process may be reinitiated."
In a mayor/council form of government, the "governing authority" isn't just the council. It's the mayor too. If the mayor likes one of the proposals but the council doesn't vote to approve it, that's the "governing authority" deeming the proposal not to be "qualified or otherwise acceptable." By the same token, if the council expresses a preference for one of the proposals but the mayor doesn't like it and therefore refuses to put it in front of the council, that is also the "governing authority" deeming the proposal not to be "qualified or otherwise acceptable." And when that happens, the statute specifically contemplates a new RFP, not years of litigation and temper tantrums.
Well, this explains the Lumumba+Richards joint strategy of shifting into the courts. With Judge Wooten, the fix is in. Justice may come on the next appeal but these dealers will be stuck in our craw until then.
People be like...The state is racist if they get involved and don't let Jackson determine their destiny. Also people like the state is racist if they don't get involved and give us money.
@6:31 what electorate? No one runs against him. In a city of 160,000 - he received 12,000 votes and won. No one bites bc there is no one to vote for and thus, the election goes by without any fanfare. This myth that he’s supported is just that. He’s not. But we are literally given no choice. So 90/% of the electorate stays home.
8:29, the pleading is also denominated as a “complaint,” and it will allow discovery, and require presentation of evidence since it alleges facts that must be proved. It isn’t an appeal from a lower court judgment and will proceed to a trial, if it gets beyond the Council’s motions for dismissal and/or summary judgment.
What a time to be alive. It is like the collapse of Rome but with WiFi.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits"… Albert Einstein
I'm a lawyer. I know what I'm doing. I'll chase my tail until I bite my 96 gallon detroit city asshole.
Can't believe I sat here and read this whole damned thing. And I thought OTHERS were stupid!
If Richards is suing the city, that’s means the city attorney defends. She’s on the mayor’s side which means she presents a half-ass defense. Council can’t afford to hire outside council so Richards wins.
Besides point 6, the rest is BS
The real problem here is the form of government. Strong mayor / weak council should have been changed a long time ago. They should go to a city manager form of government. That’s when the next emergency meeting needs to cover!
John Walker is Bennie Thompson's bud. Thompson was mad when Chokwe failed to reappoint Walker to the airport board but I'm assuming they are all fast friends again. The lawsuit is completely bogus and for the mayor to keep touting that bs lawsuit as a reason to support Richard's is insane. But everything the toddler dictator does is insane. All he cares about is lining the pockets of himself and his friends. And pretending he's Tony Yarber.
10:46: You are 100% wrong about that, for several reasons. But it can be summed up by the title of 11-51-75, the statute under which this notice/pleading travels, which says "Appeal to circuit court from decision of a local governing authority."
Please return your Google J.D.
I have seen a few cars pull into businesses in Ridgeland and unload bags of trash into dumpsters. Jackson's garbage problem will soon become everyone's garbage problem.
For all those saying this is a pissing match, it's not. It's the mayor steering all the subcontracts to friends.
There's three subcontracts that go with richards:
A plastic manufacturer in Michigan associated with one of Lumumbas largest contributor, a lawyer from Detroit who is not licensed in Mississippi. He was a friend of Lumumba's father and donated $10,000 to his election campaign.
A software company founded when Lumumba took office, run by a guy with two names. The guy was on Lumumba's transition team and his only clients are city contracts. He's been sued by the city and state auditor previously.
A construction company with no office or phone number whose LLC is a random house in west Jackson.
https://www.wlbt.com/2023/04/01/this-is-what-contract-steering-looks-like-council-votes-down-richards-disposal/
"As for subcontractors, a copy of the company’s 2021 proposal showed three: Cascade Engineering, out of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Expert Professional Solutions (XPS), of out Jackson; and H&P Construction & Consulting, also out of Jackson.
Cascade was to provide the 96-gallon trash carts as part of the agreement, while H&P was to provide consulting services.
Akil Webster, the owner of XPS, was previously sued by the city after leaders say they paid his company $101,000 for services that were never authorized.
XPS is still part of the contract and is receiving 6.78 percent of the total cost, Jones told the council."
Akil Webster is also knowk as Akil Bakari and Willie Webster.
John Walker is a very good lawyer and he's right about this. This is a proper and timely appeal under Miss. Code Ann. 11-51-75, filed within 10 days of the council's recent vote.
7:57 very interesting. I haven't done the research to figure all of that out, but it's what everyone is thinking. No one but his followers are dumb enough to think this heist is about saving the people of Jackson money. Literally everyone with walking around sense(Stokes included) knows this is 110% for the Mayor.
The notice of appeal is timely but the appeal is completely meritless. The mayor can't fashion a contract outside (or even pursuant to) an RFP process and insist the council approve it. Of course, Wooten is a total dingbat. The entire legislature was thrilled when she left.
Kingfish, can you determine the time of day when lawsuit filed yesterday?
I thought that a contract couldn't go beyond an election year for a mayor. There's no way to legally grant a contract for six years, is there?
The new Republic of Jackson gonna resolve all these issues, be patient.
Is it really a bribe if Richards suggests a big Lumumba campaign contribution hinges on garbage contract? Remember Lil Choke's wet dream is to replace Bennie T. and that takes big money.
By statute a contract for trash pickup can be 6 years.
Chucky is in on this. He advised them to sue. Richards sued the city of New Orleans too for similar complaints. This isn't random. He's in bed with this company but thought it would be easy to bullshit the whole city council. There is something going on that we aren't being told. He's way too passionate about this company.
So, KF, since you’re so sure that the state won’t step in, are you convinced the city streets won’t become lined with mounds of stinking, rotting garbage, the rat population won’t skyrocket, and plague and other air-borne diseases will not begin to spread? After all, this is Jackson, Mississippi, the one city in the U.S. that basically does not have a functioning city government.
@9:29 Great question. Date and time of filing are officially stamped by the clerk on the first page of the complaint. Shouldn’t be too hard to find.
"I have already bought a house in Madison and am getting out of this nuthouse of a city, when water runs clean, streets are smooth and garbage is collected..."
Don't forget "and the skies are not cloudy all day"
Jackie Chiles
https://youtu.be/dbG4P-AYzzA
Its weird that the mayor fan-girls so hard for a company that sues Jackson so regularly.
Its also weird that no oversight agency or journalist thinks his undying love and devotion for said lawsuit-happy-garbage-company is weird enough to ask him "why".
Post a Comment