French fry hauler disputes Brewster tow and cleanup costs

A Maine trucking company is trying to collect $215,890 from a Brewster towing business that it claims charged excessive fees for cleaning up a crash scene and removing a tractor-trailer on I-84 last summer.

Thompson’s Transport of Mapletown, Maine accused Lisi’s Towing Service Inc. of negligence and conversion of property, in a complaint filed March 21 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.

“Lisi charged for, and attempted to extort … excessive cleanup and work fees,” the complaint states, in the hope that “an insurance company would then provide Lisi with a windfall.”

Lisi’s did not respond to an email asking for its side of the story.

The accident happened last Aug. 9 at mile marker 55 in Stormville.

Thompson’s driver was hauling 45,000 pounds of frozen, crinkle-cut French fries from Maine to Alabama in a refrigerated trailer pulled by a 2022 Freightliner tractor.

The driver drove off the side of the road to avoid a collision, according to the complaint, rolled down an embankment and into a wooded area, hit a tree, and overturned.

Lisi’s was dispatched to clean up the mess.

A Hazmat team mopped up leaking fuel and other fluids, according to an invoice. A traffic management team helped control traffic on a 1.5 mile section of the interstate. A recovery team used chainsaws, weedwackers and a small excavator to clear a path to the truck.

A light tower was set up to illuminate the scene. Air cushion bags were used to prop up the wreckage. French fries were transferred to a disposal container. A 50-ton crane, 60-ton crane a 16-ton wrecker lifted the tractor-trailer and winched the rig out of the embankment. The 18-wheeler was towed to Lisi’s yard in Brewster for storage and the French fries were taken to a disposal facility.

Thompson’s claims that Lisi’s made things worse.

The tow company allegedly damaged a salvageable refrigeration unit, failed to salvage any French fries, ruined the trailer, damaged the $175,000 tractor, and charged excessive cleanup and storage fees.

Initially, Lisi’s charged $123,890 for its work, according to the complaint, and that amount was allegedly grossly inflated.

Thompson’s does not say how much it thinks the work should have cost.

Then around Oct. 11 Lisi’s allegedly charged $147,760 and said it would place a lien on the Freightliner if the bill was not paid. Thompson’s has not paid the bill and Lisi’s has kept the tractor, trailer and refrigeration unit.

The trucking company says insurers paid $5,000 for debris removal and all but a $1,000 deductible on the $34,571 cargo. Now it is demanding $215,890 for the balance of its alleged losses.

Thompson’s is represented by Manhattan attorneys Nicholas A. Duston and Kimbrilee M. Weber.