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PROVO — A parking company quietly dropped a $500,000 lawsuit against a man who had sued the company for what he claimed was predatory towing last year, according to court documents.
University Parking Enforcement dropped its lawsuit without prejudice against Carl Prince on June 25. The file to dismiss was completed in 4th District Court the following day.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the case is over, however.
“Parties dismiss (without prejudice) when there is additional information that is being obtained that needs to be included in the complaint but has not yet fully been obtained because of other circumstances, timing or because an injury has not yet completed itself,” said Justin Heideman, attorney for University Parking Enforcement. “The parties are waiting for that to occur and don’t wish to have any timeframes lapse while there is complaint pending.”
Heideman declined to say if the company plans to refile the lawsuit at a later date.
Meanwhile, attorneys Jacob Davis and S. Adam Revelli, who represent Prince, told KSL.com in a prepared statement they were happy with the parking company’s decision, although they understood that the case may not be over.
“We believe this voluntary dismissal confirms our position that Mr. Prince acted properly in regard to (University Parking Enforcement) from the time his vehicle was towed last fall,” their statement says.
The company filed its lawsuit against Prince in 4th District Court on May 25, seeking $250,000 for defamation and another $250,000 for intentional interference with economic relations.
The lawsuit was filed after Prince, who is also a BYU student, sued University Parking Enforcement in small claims court because the company did not permit him to view a video documentation of the tow when he requested, a violation of city code. The student was awarded $262.50 in January. Heideman provided KSL.com a copy of a receipt showing the company had also refunded Prince the $175 fee in September 2017 after he wasn't provided the video of the tow when he requested.
Prince told KSL.com in June he wasn't satisfied with the result, which is why he went to small claims court.
“I’ve heard too many stories of other people who have not been so lucky in getting their money back,” he said at the time. “I just felt something needed to be done and that they needed to be held accountable.”
Prince also filed an appeal to his lawsuit in February and eventually was awarded an additional $2 plus fees, according to court records.
In the lawsuit filed against Prince, University Parking Enforcement claimed Prince had set up a GoFundMe page called "Help Me Fight Predatory Towing" which included a note that "hundreds of people here in Provo can attest that University Parking Enforcement often crosses the line."
Provo parking enforcement company sues student for $500K
What started as a boot on a parked car has ended in a $500,000 lawsuit against Brigham Young University student Carl Prince.However, documents linked in the page failed to provide hundreds of reviews, the lawsuit said. One of the links goes to Yelp, which now has a pop-up on the page that says some reviews have been removed since June 22 because, "this business recently made waves in the news, which often means that people come to this page to post their views on the news."
The lawsuit also said Prince had been informed by Park Plaza Apartments management that the spot Prince had parked at was not a parking spot and was blocked off to allow waste management trucks to empty out the trash without damaging vehicles in the lot.
In an email chain between the two sides given to KSL.com, the property management company told Prince back in September 2017 that the spot wasn't a parking spot and later told Prince in January it would remain blocked off to "avoid the liability of a car being damaged."
The lawsuit went on to say, "UPE has in fact been harmed by Defendant’s defamatory statements, both economically and non-economically.
"Non-economic damages sustained by UPE as a consequence of Defendant’s defamatory statements include, without limitation, damages to UPE’s reputation, standing in the community, mental anguish and suffering, and emotion distress."
After the lawsuit was filed, Prince said he thought several of the claims against his lawsuit were flat-out false, including the statement that “due to (Prince’s) combative demeanor, a Provo City police officer was summoned” to UPE's facilities when he requested a video of his vehicle being towed. Prince said he called the officer when the company refused to show him the video evidence.
“My hope is, I guess, that something gets changed … that will make it easier for people like me to bring up these types of concerns without having to go to court,” Prince said. “I guess if something good comes out of this I won't regret it. I don’t know. It’s hard to say if I regret it.”
Contributing: Liesl Nielsen, KSL.com
