Harassment suit against Nevada TSA dismissed

A $30 million lawsuit filed against the state Transportation Services Authority in U.S. District Court has been dismissed.

Carroll "Jim" Wallace, owner of Tecopa Hot Springs Transportation Inc., filed the suit in January, alleging the TSA has prevented his company from growing through harassment and interference. He also said the agency has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Wallace, who has been blind for 64 years since he was a youngster, has operated Tecopa since 1982 and has two employees who run a 15-passenger van between Pahrump, Primm and Las Vegas two days a week.

Wallace said his clientele is mostly Pahrump senior citizens who make weekly shopping and gambling trips. He makes a run to Primm on Tuesdays and to Las Vegas on Thursdays. Occasionally, he said, he operates trips to Laughlin and Jean.

Wallace's suit against the TSA, which he filed himself, was dismissed on the grounds that he had not stated a legal claim.

A TSA statement said the suit was filed on the heels of a disciplinary hearing the agency conducted against Wallace for numerous violations, including operating his business outside the scope of his certificate, charging unapproved rates and allowing his permit to be used by non-certified operators.

Wallace said the TSA continues to violate the ADA in its communications with him. He said the agency does not send its correspondence to him in Braille as he has requested. TSA officials have sent some audio tape correspondence, but Wallace says the messages are incomprehensible.

He said he plans to refile a suit emphasizing the agency's failure to adhere to the ADA.

Meanwhile, the TSA has issued citations on five other violations and fined companies for operating illegally.

Player's Club International, Las Vegas, was fined $10,000 for operating a limousine without a certificate. Under a settlement agreement, half the fine would be waived if the company has no other violations within a year.

A spokeswoman for Player's Club said she had no comment on the citation.

The TSA also cited Don Barrett, doing business as Southern Hospitality, and fined the company $5,000, half of which would be waived if the company has no other violations within a year. The company was cited for operating a sedan and a van as a motor carrier without a state certificate.

Barrett said he plans to discuss his case with lawmakers. He said his biggest concern is with the tactics TSA undercover officers use in their sting operations. Vehicles he used, he said, were rented and they were confiscated because his certificate does not allow him to use rented vehicles.

The TSA, which regulates taxi operations outside of Clark County, also cited and fined three Northern Nevada cab operators for violations, including two drivers for operating without activating a meter.

The agency cited Leonard Verne Powell of Yellow Cab, Reno, and Donald Raymond Roy of Reno-Sparks Cab, fining them $100 each.

Reno-Sparks Cab owner Roy Street also was cited for leasing a taxi to an independent contractor without using a lease form approved by the TSA. The company was fined $1,000, half of which would be waived if the company has no other violations within a year.

Street had no comment on the Reno-Sparks Cab citations. A representative of Baker & Drake, the operator of Yellow Cab, could not be reached for comment.

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