GARDEN GROVE : School Club Is Sued for $8,000 Limo Bill

An Anaheim limousine service that provided a fleet of limos for a Garden Grove high school booster club has filed a lawsuit against the club for not paying the $8,000 bill.

A.B.C. Limousine Service Manager David Osterhoudt said in the suit filed in Orange County Superior Court that he provided 20 chauffeured limousines and two motorcycle escorts for the Bolsa Grande High School Booster Club to attend a performance of “The Phantom of the Opera” in Los Angeles in February, 1992.

Osterhoudt said the $8,075.60 bill has gone unpaid because then-booster club treasurer Linda Poag, who negotiated for the limousines, told the club that the services had been donated by A.B.C.

Nicholes Ghnouly, Osterhoudt’s attorney, said it was impossible to donate those services because A.B.C. only has a couple of limousines and had to subcontract out to other limousine services for the rest.

Poag is currently serving a two-year sentence in state prison in Chowchilla after pleading guilty to an unrelated forgery charge.

Osterhoudt said he normally requires a 50% deposit, but he waived the fee because Poag had contracted from him on numerous occasions, always paying on time. This included a fleet of 17 limousines contracted for the booster club just three months earlier in November, 1991, he said.

Ghnouly said Osterhoudt used his credit cards to pay off his subcontractors. “He’s a small mom-and-pop operation, and an $8,000 bill really put a hurt on him,” Ghnouly said.

The lawsuit, filed in February, lists the booster club as the sole defendant. However, Ghnouly said the high school or the school district may be named as co-defendants.

District personnel said school administrators were on spring break and were not available to talk about the case. Booster club members could not be reached for comment.

Garden Grove Police Detective Pat Bailey said other agencies that Poag dealt with while affiliated with the school’s booster club have also gone unpaid.

Mark Minasian, owner of Floral Productions of Garden Grove, said he lost $6,000 after the booster club allegedly failed to pay for floral arrangements for a number of school events.

Minasian said that Poag had previous dealings with him and that he was compensated each time.

Minasian said he has negotiated a payment plan with the school and has so far recouped 20% of his losses.