CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office has announced it recently secured a court order holding an area contractor in contempt with the threat of jail time should the contractor continue his failure to comply with an agreement to stop home improvement contracting and pay more than $24,500 in fines and restitution.
The contempt order requires Roger Province to cease contracting with consumers for home improvement services and make payments to the Attorney General’s Office. Failure to abide by those terms will result in a six-month jail sentence.
“Contractors must adhere to the rule of law and respect orders of the court,” Morrisey said in a press release. “This case underscores our commitment toward holding bad actors accountable.”
Morrisey's office sought the contempt order in a petition filed this summer against Province. The defendant did business under his own name and a host of others – Roger’s Home Improvement, Roger Province Home Improvement, Rogerson Home, Handy Man Service, Roger’s House Doctor, Roger Province Contracting, Roger’s Construction, Seal Right Waterproofing, Forever Dry, Forever Dry Waterproofing, We Do It All and Freedom Handyman Service.
The petition stems from three settlements dating back to October 2005, in addition to new allegations in Charleston and Dunbar that Province provided substandard contracting, failed to refund monies and engaged in home improvement work in violation of his agreement to cease such activities.
The contempt order, filed in Kanawha Circuit Court, requires Province pay $2,900 restitution toward the new complaints, along with $16,747.99 in restitution and a $5,000 civil penalty associated with the earlier agreement.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 15-C-1659