A Wichita roofer has been temporarily banned from doing business in Kansas by two court orders while lawsuits alleging violations of consumer protection laws are pending, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Energy Guard Midwest, LLC, of Wichita, is temporarily banned from doing business in Kansas. District Judge Kevin Berens entered temporary restraining orders last week in both Sheridan and Thomas County district courts prohibiting the company from acting as a roofing contractor or a general contractor in the state. The company is allowed to complete roofing and construction services currently under contract under the supervision of the attorney general’s office. The orders were agreed to by the defendant.
The lawsuits allege that the defendant took payment from consumers for roofing services in Thomas and Sheridan counties, but failed to perform the work and then failed to refund the consumers’ down payments.
The allegations constitute violations of the Kansas Roofing Registration Act (KRRA) and Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA). The cases are Sheridan County District Court No. 2018-CV-4 and Thomas County District Court No. 2018-CV-10. A copy of the attorney general’s lawsuits and temporary restraining orders are available at www.ag.ks.gov/roofer-enforcement.
Schmidt also announced he has entered into consent judgments with eight other roofing contractors for violations of the KRRA. The settlements require the contractors to pay civil penalties for KRRA violations. They also require the contractors to comply with the KRRA when providing roofing services in the future. The eight roofing contractors fined:
• Octavio Arredondo dba J&A Roofing, Seward County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-47
• Andrew Conklin, dba Andy’s Exterior Solutions, Leavenworth County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-86
• Frontline Roofing, LLC, Johnson County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-1632
• Gary Glacken, dba GTL Construction, Geary County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-64
• Neal Property Management, LLC, Sedgwick County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-706-OT
• James Ryan dba James Ryan Remodeling, Shawnee County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-276
• Gabriel Sanchez, dba Sanchez Construction LLC, dba Sanchez Construction GZ, Inc., Riley County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-46
• Randy L. Smith, Reece L. Smith, dba Smith Construction, Cloud County District Court, Case No. 2018-CV-15
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, according to the attorney general.