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CarMax lawsuit claims Westborough mistakenly overcharged $1.3M in water fees By Evan Walsh Managing Editor
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Vol. 52 | No. 30 | July 24, 2026
‘I did it for my dad’
Select Board member pushes for ‘wildlife corridor’
Faced with tragedy, Grafton powerlifter brings home gold at national Special Olympics competition
shrewsbury | 7
WESTBOROUGH – In a lawsuit that has been active for months, CarMax alleges that Westborough erroneously charged more than $1.3 million – over 10 times the correct amount – in water fees. The car dealership further alleges that the town has refused to return the funds. In a motion filed in October 2025 – and frequently discussed among Select Board members during executive session – attorneys from ArentFox Schiff LLP, representing CarMax, outlined the situation. CarMax has operated at 170 Turnpike Road (Route 9) since June 2016. The Westborough Department of Public Works (DPW) billed CarMax for water quarterly. In September 2024, CarMax realized a discrepancy, according to court documents. A reading of the building’s meter instructed Westborough to multiply by 100 to get a measurement in cubic feet, which Westborough uses to bill companies. CarMax alleges that Westborough “erroneously multiplied the actual metered usage by a factor of 1,000 … when calculating cubic feet for both water and sewer charges, overbilling CarMax 10 times its actual usage.” For example, CarMax claims to have used 833,100 cubic feet of water in October 2024, but was charged for 8.33 million cubic feet. The mistaken readings date back to 2016, meaning the miscommunication persisted for the better part of eight years, CarMax said. Not realizing the error, CarMax said it paid its bills regularly. Over the eightyear span, CarMax paid $1.455 million, according to court documents, but was CarMax | 15
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southborough | 12 Hudson teens put to the test at youth academy
Michael DeLuca is among the nation’s best Special Olympics powerlifters (Photo/Evan Walsh)
By Evan Walsh Managing Editor GRAFTON – Michael DeLuca remembers having conversations with his father, Richard, about traveling to Minnesota to compete in powerlifting at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games. Richard was DeLuca’s “person.” They hiked together, skied together, and attended Special Olympics events together. When DeLuca won an event, he would find his father and proudly hand him the medal. When DeLuca competed in Minnesota in June, though, his father wasn’t there to see him. After a courageous battle with melanoma, Richard died in May 2025, leaving behind a loving family that included his three children. He was 60. For the first time, family members noticed that DeLuca – perennially upbeat with a contagious smile – was unhappy. He traveled to the USA Games, the event
the father-son duo had dreamed about, without his dad by his side. The tragedy only added more motivation for DeLuca. At the national event, which featured 3,000 athletes, 16 team and individual sports, and over 75,000 excited fans, the Grafton resident dominated. DeLuca took home gold in the deadlift, squat, and combination powerlifting events, while also earning silver in the bench press. It’s no secret who he dedicated the performance to. “I did it for my dad,” DeLuca told the Community Advocate. DeLuca became involved in athletics as a 7-year-old, when his parents enrolled him in an adaptive ski school in Vermont. Soon, he started skiing for the Nashoba Shooting Stars. Then, his time with Special Olympics began: In 2013, he went to South Korea as part of the Special Olympics World Games, taking home gold and DeLuca | 14
HUDSON | 17 Shrewsbury 12U tops Millbury to win District 5 title
shrewsbury | 27
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