NEWS

Oshkosh files lawsuit to recoup costs for pub crawl

Jennifer K. Woldt
Oshkosh Northwestern Media
  • The city is seeking %244%2C846.14%2C which includes unpaid costs for police protection and other services and a %241%2C000 fine.
  • Joesph Kubiak said he was not the event organizer and was only selling T-shirts.

The city of Oshkosh has turned to the court system in an attempt to recoup the costs it incurred providing police protection and other services during the Oshkosh Pub Crawl in April.

The city filed a lawsuit in small claims court against Joseph Kubiak on July 1 in Winnebago County Circuit Court. In the lawsuit, the city asks a judge to order Kubiak repay the outstanding balance of $3,846.14 owed to the city for services provided during the event along with 12 percent interest per year on any unpaid balance after May 29, 2014. The city is also asking the judge to impose a $1,000 municipal forfeiture for violating the city's special events ordinance by not getting a permit for the event.

The total amount the city is seeking is $4,846.14.

"The belief from our standpoint is that he has always been the organizer of this event (who is responsible for the bill) and we reserve the right to use whatever recourse we have," Oshkosh City Manager Mark Rohloff said. "We feel we need to exhaust all of our options to collect from the historical organizer of the event."

While the city has explored billing participating taverns for the unpaid costs, Rohloff said that idea has been tabled temporarily while the city tries to recoup the costs from Kubiak.

Kubiak, who dispute's the city's claim that he organized the pub crawl, said he is not surprised the city filed the lawsuit and said he will dispute it.

"It is what it is," Kubiak said.

Kubiak has until July 30 to file a response to the lawsuit or appear in court for a hearing to dispute it.

Under the city's municipal code, special events organizers must apply for a special event permit and organizers must pay the bill for all extraordinary costs incurred by the city, unless those costs are waived by the Common Council.

A special event permit was not applied for, or issued, for the Oshkosh Pub Crawl, which was held on April 12.

The city sent a bill to Kubiak and Oshkosh Pub Crawl LLC for $5,846.14. In response, Kubiak sent the city a check, drawn from a personal account, for $2,000. The remaining balance has been left unpaid.

While he has organized the event in the past and obtained a permit, Kubiak said he was not the organizer of the April pub crawl. He said he did not apply for a permit because he only printed and sold T-shirts. He also said no information about time, date or locations was advertised.

"I didn't think I had an event," he said. "Anyone can sell shirts. I sold people a shirt with no strings attached. I didn't tell them when or where to wear it. I sold them a shirt."

However, the city disagrees.

"Kubiak's knowledge and understanding of the city's special events ordinance based on his prior experience can only lead to the conclusion that his failure to obtain a special event permit was willful and deliberate," the lawsuit states.

Rohloff said the city has filed the lawsuit against Kubiak instead of Oshkosh Pub Crawl LLC, the company that lists Kubiak as its agent, because Kubiak already paid part of the bill.

"He wrote a personal check to us," Rohloff said. "We believe that it's appropriate for us to proceed against him as an individual."

Jennifer K. Woldt: (920) 426-6676 or jwoldt@thenorthwestern.com