Preview
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pglof7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
TRENK ISABEL
290 West Mount Pleasant Avenue
SIDDI & 45 Essex Street
Suite 2370 SHAHDANIAN P.C. Suite 106
Livingston, NJ 07039 Hackensack, NJ 07601
P: 973.533.1000 + F: 973.533.1111 tisslaw.com
Richard D. Trenk, Esq.
rtrenk@tisslaw.com
973-533-1040
Reply to Livingston office
OClient No. 502844-002
October 6, 2023
VIA e-Courts
Honorable Rudolph A. Filko, A.J.S.C.
Superior Court of New Jersey
77 Hamilton Street, Floor 6
Paterson, New Jersey 07505
Re: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson; Filco Carting Corp.; and E&B
Hauling Services LLC
Docket No. PAS-L-2447-23
Request for Adjournment of Order to Show Cause
Dear Assignment Judge Filko:
This office represents Plaintiff Suburban Disposal, Inc. (“Suburban”) with regard to the
above matter. As the Court is well aware, the Order to Show Cause was entered on September 13,
2023. The Order to Show Cause required Defendants’ opposition by September 22, 2023 and
Plaintiff's reply by October 4, 2023. Plaintiff complied fully with the Court’s Order.
After our office filed its papers Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at approximately 3:04 p.m.,
the City’s counsel, Mary Anne Groh, Esq. e-mailed us at 5:38 p.m. See Exhibit “A” annexed
hereto. Ms. Groh’s e-mail stated as follows:
Upon review of Suburban’s reply, I realized there was a typo in the
Certification of Mr. Silva as to the amount budgeted. The number
of $8,400,000 was typed by my office in error and not noticed by
Mr. Silva when he signed the Certification. As indicated in the
discovery responses, the amount budgeted was $7,800,000; that
figure should have been included in the Certification. That amount
makes all of the remaining figures in Mr. Silva’s Certification add
up. I plan to correct this with the Court tomorrow, but wanted
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg2of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
Honorable Rudolph A. Filko, A.J.S.C.
October 6, 2023
Page 2
to give you prompt notice in case you want to file an amended
reply.
See Exhibit “A” (emphasis added.)
I immediately wrote back and stated that her e-mail made no sense and that Suburban
reserved all rights and remedies. See Exhibit “B” annexed hereto.
Low and behold, at 2:16 p.m. yesterday, October 5, 2023, the City filed “corrected” papers
that attempt to provide additional information or correct typographical or other errors concerning
the City’s purported budget for solid waste collection services for calendar year 2023. The City
dropped the amount of the budget by approximately $600,000. This raises significant issues
conceming the underlying information. Unfortunately, the City has provided absolutely no
document or proof as to the budgeted amount for solid waste. In fact, as set forth in the Reply
Certification of Daniel J. Roselle in Further Support of Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive
Relief, the original $8.4 million is consistent with the monthly $700,000 being paid by the City
which undermines the City’s current argument that it budgeted only $7.8 million. Such a budgeted
amount is inconsistent with the City’s current monthly costs for solid waste collection.
Furthermore, as the Court is well aware, the adoption of a budget is a public process with line
items for each category of expenditure. The City has provided none of this backup and obviously
all of this backup is and has been available to the Chief Financial Officer since the inception of the
budget process.
Based upon the foregoing, Suburban Disposal requests the Order to Show Cause be
adjourned for a short period of time and that the City provide the actual budget documents so that
we may review the underlying documentation. Suburban also requests a copy of the purported
financial statement that was provided by Filco Carting Services. As the Court can see from the
opposition papers, we requested this financial statement on September 25, 2023 after we saw it
referenced in the DeFeo report. Reply Certification of Mark Y. Moon, Esq. in Further Support of
Suburban’s Application for Preliminary Injunctive Relief at Exhibit “G.”. The City has been
totally silent and refused to produce it without any explanation for this position. Certainly, since
it was provided to the City after the bid submission date and in conjunction with the DeFeo
analysis, it should be produced.
Based upon the foregoing, Suburban Disposal requests that the return date for the Order to
Show Cause be adjourned from October 11, 2023 for two weeks until October 25, 2023 and that
it be permitted to file additional reply papers by October 18, 2023. We also request the City
produce the underlying budget documents and the Filco Financial Statement no later than October
4, 2023. Insofar as this situation was caused by the City, and Plaintiff will incur additional expense
to respond, this reasonable extension is warranted. To the extent that Defendants object and/or
will not agree to produce: (i) the underlying budget documents concerning solid waste; and (ii)
4873-6813-6201, v. 1
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg3o0f7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
Honorable Rudolph A. Filko, A.J.S.C,
October 6, 2023
Page 3
the Filco Financial Statement which was produced after the bid submission date, we respectfully
request a conference call as soon as possible.
Thank you for the Court’s consideration.
Richard D. Trenk
RDT:jms
ce: Mary Anne Groh, Esq. (via e-mail and eCourts)
David Cassidy, Esq. (via e-mail and eCourts)
Mark Y. Moon, Esq. (via e-mail)
4873-681 3-6201, v. 1
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46PM Pg4of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
EXHIBIT A
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg5of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
From: Mary Anne Groh
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 5:38 PM
To: Richard Trenk; Mark Moon; dcassidy@vslaws.com
Cec: Milo Silberstein
Subject: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al.
Gentlemen,
Upon review of Suburban’s reply, I realized there was a typo in the Certification of Mr. Silva as to
the amount budgeted. The number of $8,400,000 was typed by my office in error and not noticed
by Mr. Silva when he signed the Certification. As indicated in the discovery responses, the amount
budgeted was $7,800,000; that figure should have been included in the Certification. That amount
makes all of the remaining figures in Mr. Silva’s Certification add up. I plan to correct this with the
Court tomorrow, but wanted to give you prompt notice in case you want to file an amended reply.
Mary Anne Groh, Esq., Partner
Cleary I Giacobbe I Alfieri I Jacobs, LLC
www.cgajlaw.com
169 Ramapo Valley Road
Upper Level 105
Oakland, NJ 07436
Phone: 973-845-6700
Cell Phone: 201-981-8848
Fax: 201-644-7601
mgroh@cgajlaw.com
This message, including attachments, is covered by the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.,
sections 2510-2521, is CONFIDENTIAL and may also be protected by ATTORNEY/CLIENT PRIVILEGE. If you
believe you received this e-mail in error, do not read it. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any retention, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, I did not intend to waive and do not waive any
privileges or confidentiality of this message or the attachments. Please reply to the sender that you have received
the message in error, then delete it. Thank you.
From: Joyce Savio [mailto:jsavio@trenkisabel.law]
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 3:57 PM
To: Mary Anne Groh ; dcassidy@vslaws.com
Cc: Richard Trenk
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al.
SENT ON BEHALF OF RICHARD D. TRENK, ESQ.
Please see attached correspondence with enclosures which was e-filed today. Thank you.
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46PM Pg6of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
EXHIBIT B
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg7of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764
ES
From: Richard Trenk
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 5:48 PM
To: Mary Anne Groh; Mark Moon; dcassidy@vslaws.com
Ce: Milo Silberstein
Subject: RE: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al.
This makes no sense. We reserve all rights and remedies.
Luk
TRENK ISABEL RICHARD D. TRENK
SIDDIOI & Director
O: 973.533.1000 | F: 973.533.1111 | C: 973.216.7000
SHAHDANIAN P.C. E: rtrenk@tisslaw.com
| V-Card | Website
290 W. Mt. Pleasant Avenue | Suite 2370 | Livingston, NJ 07039
45 Essex Street | Suite 106 | Hackensack, NJ 07601
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Never trust witing instructions ctions sent via email. Cyber criminals are hacking email accounts and sending
emails with fake wiring instructions. These emails are convincing end sophisticated. Always independently confirm wiring
instructions in person or via a telephone call to a trusted and verified phone number. Never wire money without double-checking
that the wiring instructions are correct. The information in this e-mail is sent by an attorney or his/her agent anc is intended to
be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by the
attorney/client privilege, work product immunity, or other legal rules. F the reader of this message is not the intended recipient,
you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-
mail in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail reply. Thank you.
From: Mary Anne Groh
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 5:38 PM
To: Richard Trenk ; Mark Moon ; dcassidy@vslaws.com
Cc: Milo Silberstein
Subject: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al.
Gentlemen,
Upon review of Suburban’s reply, I realized there was a typo in the Certification of Mr. Silva as to
the amount budgeted. The number of $8,400,000 was typed by my office in error and not noticed
by Mr. Silva when he signed the Certification. As indicated in the discovery responses, the amount
budgeted was $7,800,000; that figure should have been included in the Certification. That amount
makes all of the remaining figures in Mr. Silva’s Certification add up. I plan to correct this with the
Court tomorrow, but wanted to give you prompt notice in case you want to file an amended reply.
Mary Anne Groh, Esq., Partner
Cleary I Giacobbe I Alfieri I Jacobs, LLC
www.cgajlaw.com
169 Ramapo Valley Road
Upper Level 105
Preview
PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pglof7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 TRENK ISABEL 290 West Mount Pleasant Avenue SIDDI & 45 Essex Street Suite 2370 SHAHDANIAN P.C. Suite 106 Livingston, NJ 07039 Hackensack, NJ 07601 P: 973.533.1000 + F: 973.533.1111 tisslaw.com Richard D. Trenk, Esq. rtrenk@tisslaw.com 973-533-1040 Reply to Livingston office OClient No. 502844-002 October 6, 2023 VIA e-Courts Honorable Rudolph A. Filko, A.J.S.C. Superior Court of New Jersey 77 Hamilton Street, Floor 6 Paterson, New Jersey 07505 Re: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson; Filco Carting Corp.; and E&B Hauling Services LLC Docket No. PAS-L-2447-23 Request for Adjournment of Order to Show Cause Dear Assignment Judge Filko: This office represents Plaintiff Suburban Disposal, Inc. (“Suburban”) with regard to the above matter. As the Court is well aware, the Order to Show Cause was entered on September 13, 2023. The Order to Show Cause required Defendants’ opposition by September 22, 2023 and Plaintiff's reply by October 4, 2023. Plaintiff complied fully with the Court’s Order. After our office filed its papers Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at approximately 3:04 p.m., the City’s counsel, Mary Anne Groh, Esq. e-mailed us at 5:38 p.m. See Exhibit “A” annexed hereto. Ms. Groh’s e-mail stated as follows: Upon review of Suburban’s reply, I realized there was a typo in the Certification of Mr. Silva as to the amount budgeted. The number of $8,400,000 was typed by my office in error and not noticed by Mr. Silva when he signed the Certification. As indicated in the discovery responses, the amount budgeted was $7,800,000; that figure should have been included in the Certification. That amount makes all of the remaining figures in Mr. Silva’s Certification add up. I plan to correct this with the Court tomorrow, but wanted PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg2of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 Honorable Rudolph A. Filko, A.J.S.C. October 6, 2023 Page 2 to give you prompt notice in case you want to file an amended reply. See Exhibit “A” (emphasis added.) I immediately wrote back and stated that her e-mail made no sense and that Suburban reserved all rights and remedies. See Exhibit “B” annexed hereto. Low and behold, at 2:16 p.m. yesterday, October 5, 2023, the City filed “corrected” papers that attempt to provide additional information or correct typographical or other errors concerning the City’s purported budget for solid waste collection services for calendar year 2023. The City dropped the amount of the budget by approximately $600,000. This raises significant issues conceming the underlying information. Unfortunately, the City has provided absolutely no document or proof as to the budgeted amount for solid waste. In fact, as set forth in the Reply Certification of Daniel J. Roselle in Further Support of Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief, the original $8.4 million is consistent with the monthly $700,000 being paid by the City which undermines the City’s current argument that it budgeted only $7.8 million. Such a budgeted amount is inconsistent with the City’s current monthly costs for solid waste collection. Furthermore, as the Court is well aware, the adoption of a budget is a public process with line items for each category of expenditure. The City has provided none of this backup and obviously all of this backup is and has been available to the Chief Financial Officer since the inception of the budget process. Based upon the foregoing, Suburban Disposal requests the Order to Show Cause be adjourned for a short period of time and that the City provide the actual budget documents so that we may review the underlying documentation. Suburban also requests a copy of the purported financial statement that was provided by Filco Carting Services. As the Court can see from the opposition papers, we requested this financial statement on September 25, 2023 after we saw it referenced in the DeFeo report. Reply Certification of Mark Y. Moon, Esq. in Further Support of Suburban’s Application for Preliminary Injunctive Relief at Exhibit “G.”. The City has been totally silent and refused to produce it without any explanation for this position. Certainly, since it was provided to the City after the bid submission date and in conjunction with the DeFeo analysis, it should be produced. Based upon the foregoing, Suburban Disposal requests that the return date for the Order to Show Cause be adjourned from October 11, 2023 for two weeks until October 25, 2023 and that it be permitted to file additional reply papers by October 18, 2023. We also request the City produce the underlying budget documents and the Filco Financial Statement no later than October 4, 2023. Insofar as this situation was caused by the City, and Plaintiff will incur additional expense to respond, this reasonable extension is warranted. To the extent that Defendants object and/or will not agree to produce: (i) the underlying budget documents concerning solid waste; and (ii) 4873-6813-6201, v. 1 PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg3o0f7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 Honorable Rudolph A. Filko, A.J.S.C, October 6, 2023 Page 3 the Filco Financial Statement which was produced after the bid submission date, we respectfully request a conference call as soon as possible. Thank you for the Court’s consideration. Richard D. Trenk RDT:jms ce: Mary Anne Groh, Esq. (via e-mail and eCourts) David Cassidy, Esq. (via e-mail and eCourts) Mark Y. Moon, Esq. (via e-mail) 4873-681 3-6201, v. 1 PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46PM Pg4of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 EXHIBIT A PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg5of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 From: Mary Anne Groh Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 5:38 PM To: Richard Trenk; Mark Moon; dcassidy@vslaws.com Cec: Milo Silberstein Subject: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al. Gentlemen, Upon review of Suburban’s reply, I realized there was a typo in the Certification of Mr. Silva as to the amount budgeted. The number of $8,400,000 was typed by my office in error and not noticed by Mr. Silva when he signed the Certification. As indicated in the discovery responses, the amount budgeted was $7,800,000; that figure should have been included in the Certification. That amount makes all of the remaining figures in Mr. Silva’s Certification add up. I plan to correct this with the Court tomorrow, but wanted to give you prompt notice in case you want to file an amended reply. Mary Anne Groh, Esq., Partner Cleary I Giacobbe I Alfieri I Jacobs, LLC www.cgajlaw.com 169 Ramapo Valley Road Upper Level 105 Oakland, NJ 07436 Phone: 973-845-6700 Cell Phone: 201-981-8848 Fax: 201-644-7601 mgroh@cgajlaw.com This message, including attachments, is covered by the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C., sections 2510-2521, is CONFIDENTIAL and may also be protected by ATTORNEY/CLIENT PRIVILEGE. If you believe you received this e-mail in error, do not read it. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any retention, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, I did not intend to waive and do not waive any privileges or confidentiality of this message or the attachments. Please reply to the sender that you have received the message in error, then delete it. Thank you. From: Joyce Savio [mailto:jsavio@trenkisabel.law] Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 3:57 PM To: Mary Anne Groh ; dcassidy@vslaws.com Cc: Richard Trenk Subject: [EXTERNAL] Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al. SENT ON BEHALF OF RICHARD D. TRENK, ESQ. Please see attached correspondence with enclosures which was e-filed today. Thank you. PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46PM Pg6of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 EXHIBIT B PAS-L-002447-23 10/06/2023 1:01:46 PM Pg7of7 Trans ID: LCV20233065764 ES From: Richard Trenk Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 5:48 PM To: Mary Anne Groh; Mark Moon; dcassidy@vslaws.com Ce: Milo Silberstein Subject: RE: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al. This makes no sense. We reserve all rights and remedies. Luk TRENK ISABEL RICHARD D. TRENK SIDDIOI & Director O: 973.533.1000 | F: 973.533.1111 | C: 973.216.7000 SHAHDANIAN P.C. E: rtrenk@tisslaw.com | V-Card | Website 290 W. Mt. Pleasant Avenue | Suite 2370 | Livingston, NJ 07039 45 Essex Street | Suite 106 | Hackensack, NJ 07601 IMPORTANT NOTICE: Never trust witing instructions ctions sent via email. Cyber criminals are hacking email accounts and sending emails with fake wiring instructions. These emails are convincing end sophisticated. Always independently confirm wiring instructions in person or via a telephone call to a trusted and verified phone number. Never wire money without double-checking that the wiring instructions are correct. The information in this e-mail is sent by an attorney or his/her agent anc is intended to be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by the attorney/client privilege, work product immunity, or other legal rules. F the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e- mail in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail reply. Thank you. From: Mary Anne Groh Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 5:38 PM To: Richard Trenk ; Mark Moon ; dcassidy@vslaws.com Cc: Milo Silberstein Subject: Suburban Disposal, Inc. v. City of Paterson, et al. Gentlemen, Upon review of Suburban’s reply, I realized there was a typo in the Certification of Mr. Silva as to the amount budgeted. The number of $8,400,000 was typed by my office in error and not noticed by Mr. Silva when he signed the Certification. As indicated in the discovery responses, the amount budgeted was $7,800,000; that figure should have been included in the Certification. That amount makes all of the remaining figures in Mr. Silva’s Certification add up. I plan to correct this with the Court tomorrow, but wanted to give you prompt notice in case you want to file an amended reply. Mary Anne Groh, Esq., Partner Cleary I Giacobbe I Alfieri I Jacobs, LLC www.cgajlaw.com 169 Ramapo Valley Road Upper Level 105