By James Rincon
Pflag Reporter

A disabled Pflugerville man is seeking compensation for damages to his car allegedly caused by an obstruction he encountered in the parking lot of the 1912 Pecan Street West plaza.

Pflugerville resident Dave Alfieri said he parked in the lot in front of the Little Caesars Pizza last October and when he backed out of the space the reinforcing bar for an out-of-place cement car stop snagged and removed his bumper.

“You don’t really drive into a parking lot looking for booby-traps. I don’t think if I drove into the parking lot of a [grocery store] and their sign fell on my car that they would say it’s my problem,” Alfieri said.

Alfieri returned to the pizzeria to inform the staff of the alleged hazard and inquire as to who may be liable for maintaining the lot. Employees of the restaurant removed the rebar and moved the dislodged car stop to the grass.

Alfieri, a substitute teacher in Round Rock who suffers from diabetes and chronic fatigue syndrome, contacted the Little Caesars corporate office in San Antonio with his complaint and an estimated $884 in vehicle repairs.

““I’ve been teaching for about three years in Round Rock, and I’m handicapped so I can’t work fulltime. I get food stamps, I’m just barely getting by. This may not be much money to most people, $800-something, but trust me, I’m just staying alive,” Alfieri said.

John Steinberg, safety and security director for Little Caesars of San Antonio Inc., said he spoke with Alfieri repeatedly to try to resolve his complaint.

“I understand what he’s going through,” Steinberg said. “What we did is we turned it over to our insurance company, and they made a determination that it’s the landlord’s responsibility. Now what we did was, the kids went out later that night and moved the car stop out of the way. But they weren’t even supposed to do that… But they were trying to show that we are trying to be good tenants.”

The owner of the plaza at 1912 Pecan Street West in Pflugerville is Austin resident Gerald Persinger.

Little Caesar’s lease agreement names Gerald Persinger’s son, John Persinger, as the property manager for the plaza.

Alfieri said he contacted John Persinger with his complaint, but Persinger denied any connection to the property.

Alfieri then contacted Gerald Persinger, with whom he said he discussed the damages. Alfieri said Gerald Persinger told him he would look into whether he is liable for the damages, but never heard back from Persinger.

“He assured me a couple times that he was going to look into it, but now it’s several months later and I haven’t heard anything,” Alfieri said.
John Persinger told the Pflag he has “nothing to do with the property” and that he does not know Dave Alfieri, despite Alfieri’s claim that he has contacted Persinger more than once.

Gerald Persinger said that though he is named on the lease, John Persinger does not operate as the property manager.

Steinberg said Little Caesars of San Antonio Inc. sent Gerald Persinger a notarized letter alerting him of Alfieri’s situation and the actions Little Caesars has taken to attempt to resolve it.

“We sent him a notarized letter telling him about the incident, and we have received nothing,” Steinberg said.

A former assistant of Gerald Persinger’s said he delivered the letter. Persinger told the Pflag on Jan. 14 that he is unaware of such a letter.

“He ran into a steel post. If you’re a driver and you run into a steel post why would that be my fault?” Persinger said. “I said I’d look into it. I had my maintenance man go over and look at what caused the damage, and he said he didn’t know if that should be our responsibility or [Alfieri’s] responsibility – he was driving the car.

“What happened is the steel bar somehow worked its way up, I think after he parked the car. It doesn’t even make sense to me. I guess I can call my insurance company, which I have not done. It’s just one of those things that happens.”

Gerald Persinger has not contacted Alfieri or the Pflag with any developments as of Tuesday morning.