Friday, April 26, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
Casella Waste Systems has been cited by the state attorney general for allegedly overly restrictive and punitive contracts and possible abuse of market dominance with restraint of competition in St. …
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Casella Waste Systems has been cited by the state attorney general for allegedly overly restrictive and punitive contracts and possible abuse of market dominance with restraint of competition in St. Lawrence County.
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has announced a settlement with the waste hauling firm that affects their operations here, in Franklin County, and several Southern Tier counties.
The settlement requires Casella to change its contracts to reduce the legal and financial obstacles faced by customers that wish to switch to competing providers. The changes are expected to rejuvenate competition by reducing customers’ switching costs and facilitating new market entry.
The settlement also requires Casella to report certain future acquisitions of competitors to the attorney general’s office. The company will also be making a $100,000 payment to the state.
The Attorney General’s Office found that Casella’s contracts with some customers required that Casella serve as the exclusive provider of all customers’ waste hauling services for as long as five years.
Customers faced severe consequences for early cancellation of their contracts, due to provisions requiring that they pay Casella an amount equal to six times their monthly bill for early termination. The contracts also allowed Casella the right to match competing offers, further discouraging competitors from bidding on the business.
Under the settlement, Casella has agreed not to enroll customers in contracts with an initial term of more than two years. Casella also agreed to reduce its penalty for early termination to three months’ service for the first year of a contract, and to only one month’s service after the first year.
The settlement applies to the counties where the attorney general determined Casella has the strongest market presence, including St. Lawrence County.
Casella entered into similar settlements with the Vermont Attorney General’s office in 2002 and 2011.
The company is incorporated in Delaware and is headquartered in Rutland, Vt.
A copy of the agreement can be viewed online at http://www.ag.ny.gov/pdfs/2014.07.10%20AOD%20Fully%20Executed.pdf
