TOPEKA – (October 17, 2017) – A Missouri roofer has been ordered to repay more than $22,000 to two Johnson County consumers, and an Abilene roofer has been banned from performing roofing services in Kansas after violating Kansas consumer protection laws, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said today.
Jason Stewart, Raymore, Missouri, and his businesses, APEX Contracting and Roofing, LLC, and APEX C&R, LLC, have been ordered to repay two Johnson County consumers a total of $22,174.30. District Judge Larry Hendricks approved a consent judgment last week in Shawnee County District Court. Stewart was accused of accepting payment from the two consumers for roofing services that were never performed. The defendant also failed to register as a roofing contractor as required by the Kansas Roofing Registration Act (KRRA). In addition to the consumer restitution, Stewart was ordered to pay a $10,000 civil penalty and to fully comply with Kansas consumer protection and roofing registration laws in the future.
Jesse Howard, doing business as Jesse Howard Roofing, has been banned from performing roofing services in the state and ordered to pay a $2,500 civil penalty for violating the KRRA. District Judge Ryan W. Rosauer approved the judgment last week in Dickinson County District Court. The defendant was accused of accepting payment from a consumer in September 2015 for roofing services that were never performed. He also was accused of failing to register as a roofing contractor as required by the KRRA. A separate, private lawsuit was brought against Howard by the homeowner, and a default judgment was granted after Howard failed to respond to the lawsuit. Howard has therefore already been ordered to pay restitution to the consumer.
Schmidt also announced he has entered into consent judgments with three other roofing contractors for violations of the KRRA. The settlements require the companies to pay civil penalties for KRRA violations and, in some cases, restitution to consumers. They also require the companies to comply with the KRRA when providing roofing services in the future. The three roofing contractors fined are:
- Entrepreneurs Enterprises, LLC, Johnson County District Court, Case No. 2017-CV-4431
- All the Above, LLC, Johnson County District Court, Case No. 2017-CV-4676
- Roof Missouri, LLC, Shawnee County District Court, Case No. 2017-CV-616
In each case, Schmidt alleged the defendants engaged in advertising, soliciting or performing roofing contractor services in Kansas without registering with the attorney general’s office as required by the KRRA. Copies of the consent judgments are available at www.ag.ks.gov/roofer-enforcement.
Schmidt reminded consumers to make sure roofing contractors are properly registered before signing any contract or having any work done. Consumers should request a copy of their roofer’s registration certificate and then should check the attorney general’s consumer protection website at www.InYourCornerKansas.org to confirm that the roofer’s registration is in good standing.