View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2013/05/15/291969.htm
The attorneys general of Illinois, Kansas and Ohio are targeting storm-chasing roofing companies in their states with legal actions.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against a Chicago-area home repair firm for allegedly failing to complete contracted projects and for failing to pay its supplier, resulting in thousands of dollars of liens put on customers’ homes.
The lawsuit against Perfect Restorations, based in Antioch, and company owners James Novack, James Hauser and Bruce Faber alleges the company required homeowners to make upfront installment payments ranging from $4,000 to $41,000, but when the contractors did incomplete or shoddy work, they refused to refund consumers.
Madigan also alleged that Perfect Restorations falsely operated as an insurance adjuster, negotiating damage claims with insurance companies on behalf of homeowners though the company was not licensed to do so.
In Kansas, Attorney General Derek Schmidt secured $50,000 in restitution from a Colorado roofing company accused taking down payments from at least six Kansas consumers but never performing any work on the consumers’ roofs.
All Trades Construction, also known as Duran Duran Roofing, and Louisa Duran were accused of violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by taking down payments on the work they did not perform. The AG also alleged that All Trades Construction and Luisa Duran forged one consumer’s signature on an insurance proceeds check.
Schmidt obtained a judgment in Shawnee County District Court ordering the company and Duran to repay a total of $50,954 to Kansas consumers and to pay an $80,000 civil penalty, the AG’s office said. The judgment also enjoins the company and Duran from further violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
Beginning July 1, roofing contractors will be required to register with the Attorney General’s Office, pursuant to the Kansas Roofing Registration Act recently approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Sam Brownback.
In Ohio, Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit charging Restore It USA, LLC and its owner James Twaddle with multiple violations of Ohio’s consumer laws. According to the lawsuit, the business targeted consumers whose homes were damaged by storms but failed to deliver promised services.
Restore It USA is located at 1323 Brice Road in Reynoldsburg, the AG’s office said. It used a website called HailWatch to locate storm-ravaged counties and then solicited consumers at their homes, requesting their insurance money in exchange for new roofs.
According to the lawsuit, the business often failed to complete the promised work or failed to provide a refund, and it routinely failed to return consumers’ phone calls. It also entered into transactions knowing it did not have enough funds to complete contracted jobs.
The AG’s office said it is aware of 28 complaints against the business from Ohio consumers, whose losses total more than $65,000. Additional consumers likely have been affected.
The lawsuit seeks consumer restitution, civil penalties and injunctive relief.