McDaniel
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel filed a consumer protection lawsuit on Tuesday against a Jonesboro asphalt company that allegedly provided Arkansas consumers with substandard paving services.
Moore Asphalt LLC, also known as Williams Asphalt, allegedly engaged in deceptive door-to-door sales tactics to convince consumers to sign contracts for repaving or paving driveways. The company allegedly completed the jobs without applying the level of asphalt thickness promised in the contracts, causing the pavement to quickly disintegrate.
"Companies like this should know that we will investigate and work to stop activities like this that were, quite literally, paved with bad intentions," McDaniel said.
"Consumers were forced to pay for this shoddy work, and then they had to pay for a reputable contractor to repair or replace what was deceptively sold in the first place. That's not good business, and Arkansas consumers should have the confidence to know that we've got their backs when it comes to helping them fight these types of schemes."
The defendants allegedly marketed paving services and goods, offering to pave or repave driveways at a discounted price. The allegedly deceptive sales pitch involved informing the homeowner that the company had recently completed a paving job in the area and that it had leftover pavement available at a cheaper rate. The defendants would typically complete the work that same day and homeowners were allegedly expected to pay the full price that day.
The state received complaints that pavement was applied by the company at thicknesses as small as a half-inch.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by representing a false degree of quality of its paving services. The suit also alleges that the defendants violated the Arkansas Home Solicitation Sales Act, which requires solicitors that go door-to-door to provide notice to consumers of an absolute right to cancel a home solicitation sales contract within three days of signing. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and restitution.