Tag: paving companies

Paving Companies Want Lawsuit Over Asphalt Costs Dismissed

More than half a dozen paving companies accused of developing a statewide monopoly to inflate the cost of asphalt have called for the case to be thrown out.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports defendants’ attorney Booth Goodwin said in a court filing Monday that the case should be dismissed because the West Virginia Attorney General is not involved.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the West Virginia Department of Transportation Division of Highways and mirrors other complaints filed by five cities, as well as the Kanawha County Commission.

Goodwin says the DOH cannot pursue the lawsuit without “using the State’s lawyer.”

Bailey & Glasser, an outside firm, filed lawsuits in October accusing the companies of creating a scheme to inflate the price of asphalt by up to 40 percent.

Cities Accuse Paving Companies of Monopolizing Industry

Several cities in West Virginia are suing paving companies, accusing them of developing a statewide monopoly to inflate the cost of asphalt.

Beckley, Charleston, Bluefield and Parkersburg are accusing the companies of creating a scheme that caused the municipalities to pay at least 40 percent more for asphalt that they should have.

The cities allege that the companies took control of at least 15 asphalt plants that at one time competed with each other and kept prices at competitive levels. The cities say the companies’ actions have violated the West Virginia Antitrust Act, which protects free trade and commerce.

Several companies including West Virginia Paving were named in the complaints. West Virginia Paving’s Dunbar office didn’t immediately respond to the Charleston Gazette-Mail’s request for comment.

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