Beleaguered Taxi Firm Also Fighting Driver Suits

A troubled Huntington Beach cab company that has been dogged by police and regulators is also defending itself from two lawsuits by former drivers who claim they were injured in separate crashes because of mechanical problems with their cabs, records show.

The suits add to a swirl of controversy around the California Yellow Taxi Cab Co. of Huntington Beach, which saw one of its cabs involved in a fatal July 4 crash and has been criticized by county officials for failing to get a county taxi business permit and for using cabbies and cabs that also do not carry proper permits.

The company’s owner, Seton Montgomerie, said Thursday that he will soon apply for a county taxi business permit, the first step toward bringing his company, cars and drivers in compliance with the law. He also described himself as “a businessman battling hard to do business” and serve his customers the best way possible. He declined further comment.

Scrutiny of the business intensified this week after police recommended one of the company’s cabbies be charged with vehicular manslaughter for the crash. That cab driver, Michelle Marchman of Huntington Beach, was speeding and ran a red light when she killed a popular local lifeguard, investigators say. Marchman declined comment Thursday.

That crash has similarities to one two years ago involving a different driver that has led to one of two driver lawsuits against the company, court records show.

Cab driver Allen Natkovitz claims in his Orange County Superior Court lawsuit that he suffered “permanent disfigurement” in an Aug. 26, 1996, crash on Harbor Boulevard near the southbound San Diego Freeway offramp. Natkovitz ran a red light and collided at high speed with another vehicle, his suit states.

The suit claims the cab company was responsible for putting Natkovitz behind the wheel of a cab with mechanical problems.

Both Natkovitz and the company agreed earlier this year to bring the suit before a court-appointed arbitrator to seek a settlement, records show. That nonbinding arbitration process ended June 16 with a $68,000 judgment in favor of Natkovitz.

But attorneys for the taxi company have asked for a jury trial, a request that probably will be ruled on soon, a court clerk said.

Another driver, Dennis Wayne Esparza, is suing the company for putting him behind the wheel of a cab he claims had a defective seat belt, records show. Esparza was injured in a May 31, 1997, crash at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Rosslynn Avenue in Fullerton, according to his suit. That case is pending.

Investigators found no evidence of brake failure in Marchman’s accident, and the primary cause of the crash is believed to be excessive speed, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Jon Arnold said.

“We know at least the brakes work because we have solid skid marks,” Arnold said. “We don’t know about the rest of the mechanics.”

While the two civil cases and possible criminal case continue to wind their way through the system, Montgomerie has taken a preliminary step toward remedying his problems with county regulators by sending a written notification declaring his intention to apply for a county taxi cab business permit.

Of the 16 major taxi companies that carry fares in Orange County, the Huntington Beach company is the only one that has not applied for or obtained a business permit from the county’s Taxi Administration, according to the agency’s director, Mike Greenwood.

Greenwood said he has repeatedly asked Montgomerie to show that each of the company’s 31 cabs has insurance coverage of $1 million per accident, a basic requirement for the business permit.

Huntington Beach police also have repeatedly requested proof of insurance for the cab driven by Marchman, who investigators estimate was driving about 80 mph just before she hit and killed lifeguard Adam “A.J.” Summers in the predawn crash. Prosecutors probably will decide in the next week what, if any, charges to file against Marchman.

Marchman was driving without a county cab driver permit, according to police, and Greenwood said only six drivers with Montgomerie’s 31-car fleet hold that mandatory permit. Greenwood said he received written notification Wednesday from Montgomerie saying he would apply for the county business permit within a week.