Attorney General's News Release

August 13, 2007

Joplin furniture store customers receive merchandise or restitution, state to be paid $15,000 under court order

Joplin, Mo. — A consent judgment obtained by Attorney General Jay Nixon today will ensure that the customers of a Joplin furniture store that closed suddenly in May will receive either restitution or the merchandise for which they paid. Hundreds of consumers contacted the Attorney General’s Office after the Ashley Furniture store on South Rangeline closed without notice on May 9, prompting Nixon to file a lawsuit on May 14 to protect those customers who had paid either partially or in full for merchandise but had not received it.

The order approved by the Jasper County Circuit Court requires store owners Dennis A. Casey and Linda D. Casey and their business, D & L Ventures Inc., to pay $15,000 to Nixon’s office to be used for restitution for any consumers whose complaints were still unresolved. The defendants also will pay $15,000 to the Attorney General’s Office to cover the costs of bringing the legal action.

Many customers received their furniture back in May and June, after Nixon filed his lawsuit and after he contacted the corporate headquarters of Ashley Furniture Industries. Ashley Furniture Industries, which was not a defendant in the lawsuit, responded by sending in trucks to deliver several hundred thousand dollars worth of furniture to Joplin area consumers, a move Nixon praised.

“Thanks to quick action by my office and by Ashley Furniture Industries, customers of this store were not left in a situation where they were without furniture or refunds,” Nixon said. “It also was important that consumers recognized that the Attorney General’s Office was the appropriate agency to contact in situations like this for resolution.”

The consent judgment and permanent injunction approved by the court also prohibits the defendants from accepting payment for furniture or other merchandise and then failing to deliver the merchandise or provide refunds.

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Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

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