Since this is a consumer complaint web site about Terminix®, and Terminix is a major subsidiary of ServiceMaster®, I couldn’t very well do this site justice without including information, lawsuits, and complaints about the parent company and the other subsidiaries.

• ServiceMaster Companies
• ServiceMaster Officers and Directors
• ServiceMaster Company “Objectives”
• ServiceMaster Acquisitions
• ServiceMaster Lawsuits and Other “Public” Information
• ServiceMaster Complaints

As of March 1, 2001, ServiceMaster had the following subsidiaries:

• American Home Shield Corporation (17 subsidiaries -- warranty contracts for home systems and appliances) -- Complaints.
• American Residential Services L.L.C. (35 subsidiaries, including but not limited to, American Mechanical Services -- electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning services) -- Complaints.
• AmeriSpec, Inc. (home inspections; wholly-owned subsidiary of American Home Shield) -- Complaint.
• Anticimex Development AB (5 subsidiaries)
• Barefoot Grass Lawn Services, Inc.
• Barefoot Services L.L.C.
• CMI Group, The
• Dallas Pest and Termite - a division of Terminix
• Furniture Medic, Inc. (on-site furniture repair and restoration)
• Furniture Medic Limited Partnership
• Halliwell Engineering Associates L.L.C.
• LTCS Investment Limited Partnership
• Merry Maids, Inc. (domestic housekeeping services)
• Merry Maids Limited Partnership
• Rescue Rooter L.L.C. (plumbing and drain cleaning services)
• Riwa B.V.
• ServiceMaster Acceptance Corporation
• ServiceMaster Acceptance Company Limited Partnership, The
• ServiceMaster AM Limited Partnership
• ServiceMaster Aviation L.L.C.
• ServiceMaster Aviation Management Corporation
• ServiceMaster Aviation Services Limited Partnership
• ServiceMaster Company Limited Partnership, The
• ServiceMaster Consumer Services, Inc.
• ServiceMaster Consumer Services Limited Partnership
• ServiceMaster Employer Services, Inc. (4 subsidiaries)
• ServiceMaster Holding Corporation
• ServiceMaster Home Health Care Services Inc.
• ServiceMaster Limited
• ServiceMaster Management Services, Inc.
• ServiceMaster Management Corporation
• ServiceMaster Management Services Limited Partnership
• ServiceMaster Japan, Inc.
• ServiceMaster Operations Germany GmbH
• ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Services Limited Partnership
• ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Services Management Corporation
• ServiceMaster Strategic Limited Partnership
• Steward Insurance Company
• The Terminix International Company Limited Partnership (termite and pest control services) -- Complaints.
• Terminix International, Inc.
• Terminix B.V.
• Terminix GmbH & Co. KG
• Terminix Ltd. (35 subsidiaries)
• TMX-Europe B.V.
• TruGreen Holding L.L.C.
• TruGreen, Inc.
• TruGreen Landcare L.L.C. (17 subsidiaries -- commercial landscaping and tree services)
• TruGreen Limited Partnership (“TruGreen ChemLawn” -- lawn care, tree and shrub services) -- Complaints.
• We Serve America, Inc.
• WeServeHomes.com, Inc.

ServiceMaster executive officers as of January 10, 2001:

C. William Pollard, Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1990, CEO 10/1/99 - 2/12/01 and 5/83 - 12/31/93. Member of Executive Committee (of which he is chairman), Finance Committee, Employee Benefit Plan Oversight Committee, and Nominating Committee.  Former SEC violations -- two transactions in 1998 and two in 1999.

Jonathan P. Ward, President, Chief Executive Officer, Director as of 2/12/01.  Formerly President and COO of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, a commercial printing company.

Phillip B. Rooney, President, Business Services Group and Director. Formerly (5/96 - 2/97) President of Waste Management, Inc. (WMI)  and 11/84 - 5/96 President and COO of WMI.  Former SEC violations -- one in 1998, two in 1999. According to an August 16, 1999, Waste News article written by Steve Daniels, “Rooney apparently fell victim to Wall Street worries about his level of involvement in massive accounting irregularities at Waste Management that resulted in the loss of billions in restated earnings over more than five years;” and “The Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating Rooney and other former executives of the nation’s largest trash hauler since the irregularities surfaced.”

Steven C. Preston, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Robert D. Erickson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Eric R. Zarnikow, Senior Vice President, Treasurer

Deborah A. O’Conner, Senior Vice President, Controller

Vernon T. Squires, Senior Vice President, General Counsel

Donald K. Karnes, Group President, Consumer Services and Senior Management Adviser

Robert F. Keith, Group President, Management Services, and Senior Management Adviser

Ernest J. Mrozek, Group President, Consumer Services and Commercial Services, Senior Management Adviser

Listing, with biographies, of the above Executive Officers and the Directors.

• To Honor God In All We Do
• To Help People Develop
• To Pursue Excellence
• To Grow Profitably

These are excellent company objectives; and any company, with adequate capital, following these objectives would undoubtedly thrive and prosper. Unfortunately, based on what many of us have personally experienced, it is obvious the only company objective ServiceMaster pursues is “To Grow Profitably” -- no matter whom they harm; and we find it outrageous and unconscionable ServiceMaster routinely blasphemes and defiles the Lord’s name, in direct violation of one of His Ten Commandments, for their greed.

As with most of the complaints submitted, I do not have any independent information to substantiate the horrendous claims made in the following letters; however, I believe them. Perhaps there is a pattern; and by posting these letters, hopefully anyone with similar experiences will have the courage to come forth.

Briefly, entities associated with, and possibly associated with, ServiceMaster are trying to steal my company.  They are trying to make it so I can’t use my trademark and blocked me from using anything resembling my company name by registering over a dozen variations of it on the web. I’m getting bomb and death threats, my tools have been stolen, my office has been broken into. I’ve been immersed in this legal quagmire, and I can’t say I wish to make it my life.

• Linda C. Palka v. ServiceMaster - “Nurse Palka was injured as a result of ServiceMaster’s negligent performance....”
   
• Sharon L. Suggs v. ServiceMaster - “Sharon L. Suggs, a black female, claimed that her termination was based on sex or race.  The district court awarded judgment to Suggs and ordered ServiceMaster to reinstate her...” More...
   
• DAPA, Inc. - “Since this cause is before the court on a declaratory judgment, the court is not concerned with the relationship of DAPA, Inc., dba ServiceMaster of Tupelo and the ServiceMaster Company Limited Partnership...”
   
• Winifred Martin vs. Long Term Care Foundation of Charleston, SC, and Diversified Health Services, a division of ServiceMaster - Negligence cost a woman her right leg; jury returns $20,000,000 verdict.
   
• Ray D. Martin v. ServiceMaster - Ray Martin, a former salesman, lost his job and $182,000 in commissions. On 9/13/99, a Fulton County, Georgia, jury awarded $1.2 million in actual damages and $135 million in punitive damages to Ray Martin for wrongful termination and breach of contract. ServiceMaster Co. said it plans to appeal.
   
• 9/13/99 -  Fulton County, Georgia, jury awarded Ray Martin $136,281,000
• 12/13/99 - Fulton County, Georgia, judge (TV’s Judge Hatchett) elected by ServiceMaster as director

ServiceMaster’s appeal resulted in the trial court reducing the compensatory award to $461,000 and the punitive damages award to $45,000,000.

ServiceMaster appealed again; and on November 19, 2001, announced “the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed the trial court's decision in the case of Ray D. Martin v. ServiceMaster. The Court of Appeals held that Mr. Martin's claim should have been limited to breach of his employment contract. The Court remanded the case back to the trial court for a new trial, noting that Mr. Martin was not entitled to punitive damages and that ServiceMaster's motion to dismiss the tort claims should have been granted.”

On January 21, 2002, ServiceMaster announced “that the case of Ray D. Martin v. ServiceMaster has been settled out of court. The total compensatory damages and fees paid by the Company were under $1 million.”

• “Schools attempt to recoup ServiceMaster money.” In a Tennessean.com article December 12, 2000, Barbara Esteves-Moore, Staff Writer, stated, “Williamson County Schools has started taking steps to recoup money from ServiceMaster, the company that terminated its contract to clean district schools and left many schools uncleaned for weeks.”  At a special board meeting, board member Mike Cherry stated, “I want it publicly on the record that when a vendor does contract with the system (and does not honor its contract), we will punish them in every way humanly possible.”
   
• Reber v. ServiceMaster - Indiana:  A story published by the Indianapolis Star on 8/12/01, states Dennis and Debbie Reber recently filed a lawsuit alleging that ServiceMaster did a poor job removing moisture from their 4,600-square-foot home, causing toxic mold to grow throughout the house. According to the report, attempts to clear the mold have already cost $43,000, and current estimates predict cost of removal to be $100,000. The article says that Allstate, the Rebers’ insurer, will only partially cover the cost of remediation efforts.
   
• Judith Mercer vs. ServiceMaster Management Services, L.P.
  Date Filed:  2001
  Court: Court of Common Pleas, Georgetown, South Carolina
  Cause(s) of Action:  Negligence
  Plaintiff’s Attorney:  Angus Lawton; North Charleston, SC
  Defendant’s Attorneys: Carl Fisher, Chicago, IL; John Wilkerson, Charleston, SC)