DeWine
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced on Friday that his office has filed lawsuits against two Ohio home improvement businesses for alleged violations of Ohio consumer law.
The first suit was filed against James K. Hall, Kim Hall and Richard Abston, the owners and operators of a Springfield, Ohio-based tree-cutting business. The business operated under various names, including Nationwide Tree Service, Capital City Tree Care and Hall Tree Service.
Complaints allege that the defendants promised to cut down trees, grind out the stumps and remove the mess, but instead took the full payments of consumers, cut the trees and left without finishing the job. One lawsuit alleges that the business violated Ohio's Home Solicitation Sales Act and Consumer Sales Practices Act multiple times including failing to notify consumers of their three-day right to cancel, failing to deliver, providing shoddy work and making misrepresentations about their service.
The second lawsuit, filed against Joseph Tribuzzo of Tribuzzo Construction alleged multiple violations of the CSPA. The suit alleges that Tribuzzo took advance payments for roofing and other home repair work, but either did shoddy work or failed to do the jobs at all.
DeWine is seeking injunctive relief in both complains to stop further violations of consumer laws, full restitution for affected consumers and civil penalties.
"In both cases, the defendants accepted advance payment from Ohioans, but failed to do what they promised," DeWine said. "They also ignored repeated attempts to resolve complaints out of court. While my office aims to work with all Ohio businesses, companies that violate the law will be held accountable."