MILLTOWN — The township has settled a lawsuit with the former operator of a Taco Bell over a broken water meter that the fast food joint says cost it upward of $150,000.
Taco BellFile photo
Milltown paid out $50,000 to Quality Food Inc. last year settling a lawsuit filed in Middlesex County Superior Court, according to documents recently obtained through OPRA.
The lawsuit claimed the township billed the franchise for water and sewer estimates that were “dramatically higher” than any of the actual readings between 2005 and 2012.
Once the operator fixed the water meter in 2012, he saw his bills drop Piabet by about $3,200 per quarter. The meter had allegedly not worked for more than six years.
The water overcharge estimates do not include the $1,373 in quarterly sewer charges paid out to Milltown and Middlesex County Utility Authority, according to the suit.
Quality Foods contacted the township in 2013 requesting a credit to overcharges and Milltown refused, according to the suit.
The operator filed suit against the town in May of 2015 seeking a reimbursement of alleged overcharges.
As part of the settlement reached last June, neither side admitted fault.
The franchisee has since sold the business on Ryders Lane.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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