CHARLESTON - State Attorney General Darrell McGraw is charging four West Virginia-based contractors with false advertisement regarding their licenses.
Special Assistant Attorney General Jill Miles filed the lawsuit June 7 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
The four businesses and their presidents being charged are: Appalachian Heating and Cooling, Larue Causey; M.L. Perry Heating and Cooling, Jodie Perry; Hess Roofing Co., Ella Jane Hess; and Arctic Air, Timothy and Terry Romeo.
The lawsuit alleges that all four falsely represented themselves as licensed contractors in West Virginia even though they aren't. It is the result, McGraw's office says, of a scouring of the yellow pages to see which contractors were advertising without a license.
It also says the companies once had licenses, but they have since expired. Arctic Air's expired in 1995.
Appalachian and M.L. Perry are St. Albans-based, Hess is in Charleston and Arctic Air is in Marmet.
A hearing on the matter has already been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. June 30.
The Attorney General is seeking an injunction preventing the four companies from doing business until the lawsuit is resolved and an order declaring they pay $5,000 for each violation of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act.
Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker has been assigned the case.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 06-C-1089
McGraw goes after four contractors
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