Topeka's city government gets $60,000 over its purchase of bad pothole patching trailers
Topeka's city government has received $60,000 to settle a federal lawsuit it filed in March 2022 over its October 2018 purchase for $167,804 of four pothole patching trailers it found to be ineffective.
North Branch, Minnesota-based KMI International Inc., agreed to pay the city that amount, said a document city attorney Amanda Stanley provided The Capital-Journal on Thursday in response to a Kansas Open Records Act request.
The lawsuit case was dismissed last week in U.S. District Court after the settlement agreement was reached during a Jan. 18 mediation session, court records said. That session lasted five and a half hours.
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Topeka lawsuit: Trailers broke down more than they should have
The city filed the suit against Chandler, Arizona-based Crafco Inc., which had sold it the four "hot box" trailers to help quickly and reliably repair potholes, said Gretchen Spiker, the city's director of communications.
The trailers failed to reasonably perform in the manner the contract required and "experienced failure and breakdowns in manner and frequency which would be considered unreasonable for normal use," the lawsuit petition said.
The suit sought damages related to the city's costs to buy the hot boxes, as well as lost time and production related to its inability to repair its streets with the boxes as intended.
The city filed the suit March 25, 2022, in Shawnee County District Court. The suit was transferred May 3, 2022, to federal court after a judge determined that was the proper place for it to be heard.
The suit alleged Crafco committed breach of contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and breach of implied warrant of fitness for particular purpose.
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Crafco responded with complaint against KMI
Crafco on May 10, 2022, filed a response saying the alleged failure of the hot box trailers was not due to any negligence, defect, failure or omission on its part.
Crafco filed a third-party complaint on May 24, 2022, against KMI International, which it said "failed to use ordinary care" as KMI designed, manufactured, tested and/or placed warning information on the hot boxes, court records show.
The hot boxes KMI provided were "not suitable for the particular purpose for which they were required" and did not "conform to the promises or affirmations of fact made on the container," the lawsuit petition said.
Settlement agreement calls for each party to pay own legal fees
The settlement agreement was signed Feb. 13 by Stephen Wade, Topeka's city manager.
It called for KMI to pay Topeka's city government the $60,000 "on or about March 3" in exchange for the city's agreeing to the dismissal of all its other claims mentioned in the suit.
The agreement called for KMI to regain possession of the hot box trailers, and for Topeka's city government to make no public comment on the outcome of the suit.
"The city's lawful response to an open records request shall not be considered a 'comment' for the purposes of this agreement," it said.
The agreement called for each party involved to cover its own costs and expenses, including legal fees.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
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This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Settlement paid to city of Topeka over bad pothole patching trailers
