The state of New Jersey recently obtained a $177,000 settlement in a lawsuit against Williams Asphalt Materials L.L.C., a former paving company that allegedly performed substandard work, according to an announcement by Acting Attoney General John. J. Hoffman.
The state sued Williams Asphalt in 2010 after paving customers in southern New Jersey complained that driveways costing thousands of dollars allegedly began to crumble after only a few months. The suit was later amended to include six members of the Williams family.
By the time the state received a $17 million default judgment, the family had already left the state, but the Arkansas Attorney General's office contacted New Jersey officials in March 2012 to alert them that Henry R. Williams was planning to sell his equipment at auction.
Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Kant went to Arkansas in April 2012 to prevent cash from going to the defendants and to secure restitution for New Jersey residents. Assets were frozen until the settlement was reached.
“The long arm of the law knows no boundaries, as this case clearly illustrates, and others who think they can avoid justice by crossing state lines will find out just how wrong they are," Hoffman said.