Wrote an article back in August on the despite between Cedar Greene Apartments and O’Leary Group Waste Systems and the city of Charlotte. The issue:

The city of Charlotte contracts with Republic Services Inc. for garbage collection at apartment complexes, condominiums, and trailer parks in the city. Each multifamily complex qualifies for a set number of collections per week based on the ratio of residential units to dumpsters. If a complex wants collections beyond the number allowed by the city’s formula, it must contract with a private waste hauler for additional pickups.

The Cedar Greene Apartments wanted to provide its tenants with additional pickups, and pursued a contract with O’Leary Group Waste Systems for this service; O’Leary offered the apartment complex a lower rate than Republic for extra collections.

O’Leary’s bid, however, contained an important condition: It was contingent on receiving the same treatment as Republic at the city’s garbage dump. Charlotte imposes a $27 per apartment unit fee for garbage disposal, which covers both primary and any supplemental collections. Per its agreement with the city, Republic is reimbursed at the city dump for all collections from apartments and condos within the city, including additional collections arranged with outside contractors.

The city refused to reimburse O’Leary for any additional collections it might perform at apartments in the city.

The N.C. Court of Appeals in August held that Charlotte’s policy didn’t discriminate against Cedar Greene Apartments and that O’Leary didn’t have legal standing to challenge the city’s policy. Last month, the N.C. Supreme Court overturn the appeals court’s decision, adopting Judge Ann Marie Calabria’s reasoning in a dissent from the Court of Appeals’ majority opinion. So yes, the city’s policies were unfair.

The decision is important, for if the city had prevailed, it could have limited the incentive for business owners to seek bids from service providers that compete with those approved by municipal governments.