Cooper
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Monday that a contractor has been banned from all residential paving in the state.
Tommy Clack, who has a history of complaints from consumers who were allegedly pressured into expensive paving jobs, was found guilty of contempt for violating previous court orders by Wake County Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood.
A permanent ban on all residential paving work by Clack and his associates was subsequently ordered by Hobgood. Clack has also been ordered to make good on $27,500 in refunds to four consumers who filed affidavits in the case. If Clack fails to comply by July 7, he will be taken into custody.
"We will come down hard on businesses that repeatedly violate the law, ignore court orders, and deny consumers their rights," Cooper said.
Previously, the court had ordered Clack to stop soliciting or performing any new residential driveway paving work from May 14 to the present. He was also under a November 2008 court order that required him to wait four days after a contract was signed before he could start any paving work in the state.
Affidavits from consumers alleged that Clack had violated these previous court orders and charged his customers high fees for poorly performed work.
Clack allegedly promised each consumer that he could offer them a good deal because he was already in the neighborhood and had asphalt remaining from other jobs. Clack's crew began work as soon as contracts were signed, completing the jobs in as little as two hours, it is alleged.
Clack, who moved his business to South Carolina following the November 2008 order, is currently facing a four-count criminal indictment out of Florence County for defrauding four South Carolina victims.
"Do your homework before you agree to pay any money for home repairs," Cooper said. "If need work done on your home, get several written estimates and check references before you sign a contract. Don't just go with the first company that comes knocking on your door."