Waste Management Settlement Brings Sweeping Reforms to Northern Nevada’s Commercial Trash Collection System

Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers and co-counsel recently secured a settlement in a six-year-long class action case against Waste Management of Nevada (WMN). The outcome is bringing major operational reforms across Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and Washoe County. This lawsuit originated from plaintiffs’ complaints that WMN engaged in unpredictable pickup practices and operated a penalty-fee system that harmed commercial customers – especially apartment complexes and property managers.

Background of the case

The plaintiffs included Sherwood Forest Apartments, Sierra Woods LLC, Bella Lago LLC, Lansdowne LLC, and Biggest Little Investments LP. The defendant, WMN, operated as a waste-collection monopoly under exclusive franchise agreements with cities and county governments.

According to plaintiffs’ allegations, the defendant’s collection system involved unpredictable pickups anywhere between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m. As a result, the plaintiffs and unnamed class members (i.e., other commercial customers) alleged they were deprived of a reasonable opportunity to ensure their dumpsters would not overfill—which led to WMN’s excessive overage penalties. Despite their best efforts, the plaintiffs and other class members said they could not avoid incurring the overage penalties. For some commercial customers, the overage fees amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in annual fees. Even when WMN missed a pick-up, the plaintiffs alleged they were assessed overage fees on the next pick-up.

These issues impacted thousands of commercial customers in Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and Washoe County, as they were subject to exclusive franchise agreements that required them to use WMN.

The case began in 2019, leading to years of litigation before the parties reached a class action settlement agreement that the Court, the Honorable Katheleen Drakulich, approved in July 2025.

Importantly, the Reno City Council unanimously voted in late 2024 to issue notice of termination of WMN’s exclusive franchise agreement due, in part, to concerns raised in the case. Still, that notice requires the city to continue the current contract until November 2029 and is anticipated to lead to renegotiation of the contract.

The settlement terms include major operational reforms

This case is particularly important to the region because it requires several specific changes to WMN’s practices. Here are some of the requirements contained in the settlement terms:

• WMN must adopt clear, uniform definitions of “overage/overload” for all covered municipalities in Northern Nevada
• WMN must warn each customer once per year before assessing overage fees
• WMN must notify customers via email of any overage within 24 hours, providing photo documentation
• WMN must give seven days between the warning and the assessment of an overage fee
• WMN must implement a three-hour service window for pickups
• WMN cannot charge overage fees caused by WMN’s own missed pickups
• WMN cannot provide incentives to drivers or other employees to generate overage fees

The agreement also requires specific methods of notice, including through email, the WMN mobile app, and the mail when required. Transparency is key to the settlement, which states that WMN must now publish its current routes and communicate any route changes. WMN must promote and improve the WMN App as well, in order to help businesses monitor their service.

All of these required changes must remain effective for the next ten (10) years if it continues to operate under franchise agreements with the covered municipalities.

Additionally, WMN was required to pay $2,225,000 for attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses, and class representative service awards. The settlement provides injunctive relief only for class members rather than monetary damages.

Understanding class actions in Nevada

A class action is a single lawsuit brought on behalf of a larger group of people or businesses who all experienced similar harm. If approved by the court, a representative party, or a few representative parties, may bring the claim on behalf of all those similarly impacted. There are specific requirements for bringing one of these claims under NRCP 23, including:

• Numerosity: There must be a large group of impacted parties such that joining everyone individually would be impractical. While Nevada law doesn’t include a specific number, the courts will consider whether the group is large enough that individual claims may overwhelm the system. A group of 40 or more will typically suffice.
• Commonality: The class members’ legal claims must share common questions of law or fact. For instance, in this case, they alleged WMN’s collection and overage policies and practices were unfair for all class members.
• Typicality: Similarly, the representative plaintiff’s claims must be typical of the class, and their experience should be similar to what happened to the proposed class members.
• Adequacy: The representative plaintiff and their attorneys must fairly and adequately protect the class’s interests, not just the interests of the representative plaintiffs.

In general, class actions are worth pursuing when a corporate policy, product defect, fee structure, or practice affects many people or businesses similarly. They tend to offer benefits in claims seeking “injunctive relief,” where the goal is to change behavior rather than just recover financially for losses. Another benefit of class actions is that they offer a cost-effective way for plaintiffs to challenge larger companies with greater resources. All of these factors came into play in this case, which resulted in a resolution that will help WMN’s commercial customers in Northern Nevada have a reasonable opportunity to avoid future overage fees.

Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers’ role in the case

Michael Gayan of Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers took the lead role in this complex, multi-year class action case. We’re proud of the results we’ve achieved, including structural reforms that benefit thousands of commercial customers across Northern Nevada for at least the next decade.

At Claggett & Sykes, we’re dedicated to community safety and accountability – and we’re always prepared to take on powerful entities. Get in touch with our team to discuss this case or to schedule a consultation with one of our dedicated attorneys.