LISBON — The city of East Liverpool recently denied allegations made by Diamondback Dumpsters in the lawsuit over the purchase of a truck, roll-off boxes and hauling services, filing its own counterclaim against Diamondback for breach of contract.

The answer and counterclaim filed by East Liverpool City Law Director Charles Payne said Diamondback “failed to purchase the equipment and is in breach of its agreement resulting in damages to the city. The sale proceeds were to be used to replace old equipment with new equipment to avoid the high repair and maintenance costs associated with the city’s existing old equipment.”

He wrote that Diamondback “breached the hauling services contract resulting in damages to the city by forcing the city to pay higher hauling costs.”

Besides asking that the complaint by Diamondback be dismissed at Diamondback’s cost, Payne requested compensatory damages for Diamondback’s failure to purchase the equipment and breach of the hauling services agreement in excess of $63,000, the exact amount to be proven at trial. He also asked that the court award the city further relief “as the court deems just, equitable and appropriate.”

Diamondback Dumpsters, LLC, Annesley Road East, East Liverpool filed the complaint in January in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court against the city, claiming the city damaged the company by taking back the equipment and failing to compensate Diamondback for services.

Diamondback was seeking damages for the repossession of the equipment, more than $200,000 in damages for compensation of services by Diamondback from March 2024 to April 2024 and lost profits from May 2024 to December 2025 and damages for the city’s alleged failure to pay for services.

According to the original complaint, Diamondback entered a verbal agreement in September 2022 with East Liverpool to haul two 40-yard compactor boxes and two 40-yard open top boxes to landfills of Diamondback’s choosing, with use of a 2019 International roll-off truck owned by the city part of the deal. The company took possession of the truck and boxes and performed the services for the city.

In May 2023, city council authorized disposition of the truck and boxes and agreed to advertise for bids for compactor, dumpster and hauling services for East Liverpool’s refuse and recycling department.

Diamondback submitted bids for the equipment and to provide the hauling services which were opened Dec. 13, 2023. The company submitted the high bid for the equipment purchases and low bid for the hauling services. The city’s board of control awarded the bids for the equipment and the two-year service contract to Diamondback, with a hauling service agreement executed on Dec. 31, 2023. In January 2024, city council then passed an ordinance authorizing the safety service director to enter a purchase agreement for the sale of the truck and four roll-off boxes and to sell the equipment to Diamondback.

The company claimed it did not receive the bill of sale until March 11, 2024 from the city and couldn’t finalize the financing for the purchase until then.

On April 16, 2024, while a Diamondback employee was performing services for East Liverpool at the city’s safety service building, the complaint alleged that the chief of police, service safety director and assistant safety service director “intentionally and without permission” used the chief’s police cruiser to block the truck from leaving until the employee agreed to allow them to repossess the truck and the boxes.

“The city had absolutely no right to repossess the collateral, especially since any delays were caused by the city’s own failure to provide Diamondback with a bill of sale,” the lawsuit document said.

Since then, the city has used the equipment to perform its own trash and hauling services and hauling to Ohio Valley Waste, who was the only competing bidder.

In the answer filed by the city regarding the complaint, Payne admitted the “city has used the equipment to haul its trash due to plaintiff’s (Diamondback’s) failure to purchase the equipment and failure to perform under the hauling agreement, but denies that it is against Ohio law and Ohio public policy.”

A pretrial in the case isn’t scheduled until Dec. 1. A court trial was set for Jan. 14, 2026.