Uniontown businessman seeks to add retaliation claim to federal suit
A Uniontown business owner who filed suit against a state police trooper last year for malicious prosecution has moved to amend his complaint to add a retaliation claim, and the defense wants a judge to block the additional matter.
Louis “Joby” Cantalamessa, owner and operator of Joby’s Gulf on Beeson Avenue, filed the federal lawsuit against state police Trooper Timothy S. Karpiak in September 2012, two months after criminal charges of theft by unlawful taking and fraudulent removal of a vehicle from a garage were dismissed by Magisterial District Judge Michael M. Metros.
The suit alleged that because the case received publicity, Cantalamessa suffered damage to his business and reputation, and has been dropped from the list of towing companies used by the state police.
On Nov. 6, Cantalamessa’s attorney, Joel S. Sansone, filed a motion to add a retaliation claim, arguing that state police have violated Cantalamessa’s constitutional rights by retaliating against him for the civil suit by refusing to reinstate Joby’s Gulf to the state police towing list.
The motion came after Sansone said he deposed state police Lt. Douglas Bartoe, the officer responsible for determining which towing services are placed on the list. Sansone argued he only learned of the reason for Joby’s Gulf not being reinstated to the list at the Oct. 8 deposition.
“Bartoe conceded that there are no rules or regulations promulgated by the state police which permit the actions taken here by this lieutenant,” Sansone wrote. “There was no other reason for the decision to bar (Cantalamessa) from the tow list other than the fact that he sought access to the federal court to address the grievances set forth in the complaint in this action.”
In his deposition, Bartoe testified that Cantalamessa’s actions hurt the image of the state police. In addition to seeking permission to add the retaliation claim, Sansone is asking for Bartoe to be added as a defendant in the suit.
Not only has Cantalamessa suffered humiliation and anxiety because of the criminal charges which were dismissed, Sansone contended, but his removal from the tow list has cost “a considerable amount of money.”
“The evidence at trial will show that (Cantalamessa) earned in excess of $50,000 some years directly from towing automobiles, the calls from which originated from state police,” Sansone wrote.
Sansone added that Cantalamessa will continue to lose money until the state police are ordered to return him to his place on the tow list, which his business was on for many years prior to the criminal charges.
On Wednesday, deputy attorneys general Robert Willig and Greg R. Neuhauser, who represent Karpiak, filed a response in opposition to amending the complaint, calling the proposed amendments “futile”.
“(Cantalamessa) has not been removed from the tow list out of retaliation for filing a lawsuit, but rather because of the inherent conflict of interest involved when one party sues another,” wrote Willig and Neuhauser.
They contended that it would only be prudent to wait for the resolution of the civil suit before considering whether to place Joby’s Gulf back on the tow list.
The defense attorneys additionally argued that the pending lawsuit isn’t the only reason why Cantalamessa’s company isn’t back on the list.
“It is critical to the decision as to whether to place him back on the tow list if he has made the victim whole or if the victim is satisfied with the resolution of the criminal case,” stated Willig and Neuhauser.
In Bartoe’s deposition, he testified he had not made contact with the alleged victim to find out whether she is satisfied with the resolution, and that as far as he knew, she is not “complaining.”
In the original complaint, Sansone alleged that on April 12, 2012, Chuck Sanner, then the boyfriend of the alleged victim, Brittnie Victor, called Joby’s Gulf to say he had been in an accident. Victor’s grandfather, Holbert Victor, works at Joby’s Gulf and has for more than 30 years, according to the suit.
Sanner was driving Brittnie Victor’s car and asked Holbert Victor to send a tow truck to the scene and to tow the vehicle to Joby’s Gulf, according to the filing.
Sanner told Holbert Victor that he could not pay for the towing, the suit indicated. At that point, Holbert Victor told Sanner that Cantalamessa would be willing to accept title to the car as payment for towing and storage, the suit stated. The filing alleged that because of the damage, the value of the car was considerably less than those costs.
The next day, Brittnie Victor and Sanner came to get belongings from the car, and Brittnie Victor said she would return with the title to the car, the filing alleged.
Two days later, she returned to get additional items, and again reiterated she would bring in the title, according to the suit.
At some point later, a tow truck driver came to Joby’s Gulf to transport junked vehicles to a salvage and recycling center to be crushed and sold as scrap metal, the suit indicated. At that point, Holbert Victor told the driver to include his granddaughter’s vehicle, the suit stated.
Karpiak came to question Cantalamessa about the car a short time later, the suit contended, and Sansone alleged that the trooper did not let Cantalamessa explain what had occurred and instead charged him with theft and fraudulent removal of a vehicle from a garage.
Cantalamessa alleged in the suit that Karpiak arrested him “in retaliation for the actions of plaintiff’s stepbrother, Francis Palumbo.” The suit alleged that Karpiak told Cantalamessa that he was “going to get your buddy” when he arrested him, and gestured toward Palumbo. Sansone alleged that Karpiak believed that Palumbo was illegally selling vehicles in Pennsylvania.
A federal judge will rule on the motion to amend the complaint at a later date.