Morrisey files contempt petition against bus company

CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office says a bus company has violated a court order requiring it to refund money from a cancelled school field trip.

Morrisey said Monday his office has filed a Petition for Contempt against Cav’s Coach Co. LLC and managers Chris and Karol Cavender for violating a 2013 court order that required the company to reimburse a Roane County elementary school for a cancelled school trip.

In January 2013, Cav’s Coach Co., a West Virginia-based charter bus company, agreed to pay back $7,800 after Reedy Elementary School’s 2010 charter bus trip to New York City was cancelled.

As part of the agreement, the company said it would provide $6,800 in refunds to consumers who were stranded for hours after the company’s buses broke down and could not be repaired or replaced. The company also agreed to pay $1,000 in civil penalties to the Attorney General’s Office.

Originally, Cav’s Coach agreed to a payment plan of $650 a month until the $7,800 amount was refunded in full. However, Cav’s Coach only made three payments in 2013 and two payments in 2014 leaving a balance owed of $4,550.

“Our Office must hold businesses accountable to comply with the law and follow the agreements in place,” Morrisey said. “Regardless of the company or the situation, consumers deserve to receive their refund in full.

“The Reedy Elementary School PTO is well overdue their refunds from their planned trip in 2010. This is not the first complaint we have received involving this company, therefore we must take action to ensure that West Virginia’s consumers are protected.”

The hearing on the petition is scheduled for Sept. 11 before Judge Nibert.

Roane Circuit Court case number: 13-C-1