A Big Stink Over Trash : Landlord Says Hauler Illegally Dumped Garbage in Payment Dispute

A dispute over a $1,200 bill has turned dirty.

And smelly.

Phil Markowitz, who bought a bank-repossessed 12-unit building in North Hills in February, is accusing a refuse collection firm of dumping a truckload of trash on his property last month because he has refused to pay the bill, which he claims is owed by the building’s previous owner.

Police submitted the matter to the city attorney’s office Wednesday to decide whether criminal charges will be filed against Foothill Waste & Reclamation Co., Van Nuys.

Surprisingly, dumping a truckload of trash on someone else’s property is just like tossing a gum wrapper on the street; both are infractions punishable by a fine of between $100 and $1,000.

The only difference is that with illegal dumping, a judge could also require the defendant to pay the cost of removing the trash, and each day that the trash remains unmoved could be considered a separate violation.

Los Angeles Police Officer Darlene McKay, who investigated the case, said the dispute should never have become a criminal matter.

“It’s a business dispute,” McKay said, sounding like a scolding parent. “They should behave like adults.”

Markowitz said he agrees.

“This is no way to deal with a business dispute,” he said. “They were very irresponsible.”

Officials at Foothill Waste did not return repeated calls. However, McKay said she spoke with company officials, who she said admitted calling Markowitz about the disputed bill but denied knowing anything about the dumping.

Markowitz did not see the actual dumping, but he said two of his tenants did.

Miguel Chavez, one of the tenants, said he saw two men back up a red and blue truck with the word Foothill painted on the side and dump the trash in the parking lot behind the apartments in the 9300 block of Sepulveda Boulevard about 8:30 a.m. April 26.

“It’s not what I believe I saw, it’s what I saw,” Chavez said in an interview.

Markowitz said Foothill Waste called his office three times, threatening to dump the trash if the $1,200 bill was not paid. The final warning came four days before the trash was dumped.

Markowitz said the last time Foothill Waste picked up trash at the property was in January, before he took possession of the building. He contracted with another firm for refuse collection in February.

“For the waste company to come back here four months later. . . ,” Markowitz said, not finishing the sentence. “If that’s their way of settling a bill, that’s pretty low--and illegal.”

Markowitz said he went through the six-foot pile of trash, which after a few days was beginning to smell. He said that while picking through the heap--which included chunks of broken cement and empty cans of paint and thinner mixed in with regular household trash--he found discarded envelopes. He went to the address listed on the envelopes and spoke to a resident there, who told him that Foothill Waste had picked up the trash there that morning about 8.

Markowitz paid about $800 to have the trash removed over the weekend. He said he is consulting with his attorney about possible legal action to recover his costs.

“Part of me is laughing, but part of me is also pissed off,” he said.