Overtime Pay Dispute Turns Tables on Tow Truck Operator

St. Petersburg, FLAn overtime pay dispute that was settled in the courts but was not settled monetarily according to overtime laws, was advanced in a unique fashion that effectively turned the tables on the defendant in the case. As outlined in the St. Petersburg Times (Aug 7), when the plaintiff was unsuccessful in collecting damages from his former employer he succeeded in hooking up and towing away his former employer's tow trucks.

Those actions stemmed from a 2008 lawsuit filed against Apex towing by Vinny Cassara, a former employee of the firm who alleged he had not received overtime from his employer in spite of several occasions working in excess of 40 hours. He was awarded $24,616 in unpaid overtime by a jury in July. The award included liquidated damages and attorney's fees.

According to the newspaper report the plaintiff tried repeatedly to collect his due from Apex. At one point the owner of Apex offered to give Cassara an assortment of junk cars he could sell on his own in order to acquire the funds (through the sale).

Cassara refused the offer, stating that he wasn't a car salesman.

And so, with the help and approval of the US Marshals Service, Cassara seized the three tow trucks belonging to Apex. Cassara told the Times he remains willing to return the trucks provided he gets his money from his former employer.

Prior to this pay for overtime dispute with its former employee, Apex had been embroiled in controversy after it was found to have towed the cars belonging to several fans from outside Tropicana Field. Previously, he had towed about five cars from the parking lot of an apartment building—with which he had a contract—while unwittingly becoming involved in a fraud not of his doing. According to reports someone had covered up the 'No Parking' signs, then collected funds from multiple patrons.

While the owner of Apex, Phillip DeCelles, was not involved in the scheme, he was charged a few days later with scheming to defraud after police say he misrepresented himself as the owner of a competing towing company, then towed a vehicle. DeCelles denied the charge and maintained he had authority to conduct the tow.

Cassara is hoping his seizure of the three tow trucks will prompt his former employer to settle the matter and pay the funds owed in the pay for overtime dispute.