SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) — Customers haven’t received refunds, but tell On Your Side they’re very relieved. They waited years, and now the lawsuit against a shuttered Springfield roofing business is moving forward.

It all started with an inquiry on your part. In the spring of 2021, I told you about LoveOurRoof. I have heard from several customers who paid thousands in deposits and then the company suddenly shut down. No work was ever done.

Following our investigation, the Missouri attorney general filed a lawsuit about two years ago. Not much has happened since then, but now there is movement.

“I really thought that day would never come,” Laura Leclair said.

I first spoke to Leclair a few years ago. She hired LoveOurRoof and paid nearly $4,000 for new gutters and other improvements. Shortly after he wrote that check, the company closed. She filed a complaint with the attorney general and is in the process. She and about a dozen others are scheduled to be on the docket next month for depositions.

“I’m nervous, but I know I didn’t do anything wrong. I paid money for which I did not receive services. I have nothing to hide. I’m happy to share our side of the story with you. I’m not going to hold my breath to see if we get our money back, but the fact that they’re doing something about it and hopefully they’ll get these people to do it again,” she said.

Court records show it was difficult to serve the defendants. The attorney general is suing the company, James Harding and Matthew Preister, for violating the Missouri Trade Practices Act. Court documents indicate the company made false promises to customers. The AG wants the defendants to pay more than $56,000 in restitution plus penalties and court costs.

In April 2021, Harding told On Your Side that she would make things right.

Meanwhile, a quick internet search shows that Preister has been affiliated with other roofing companies in the Kansas City area since the closing. The attorney general asked the judge to bar him and Harding from working in construction.

“Whether he’s a 1099 contractor, whether he’s an employee or a business owner, he’s done wrong to people in this industry and I don’t think he should be allowed to work in it again in the state of Missouri,” Leclair said. .

The defendants have not filed a response to this lawsuit. On Your Side has called and emailed them several times, but has not heard back. At this time, they do not have an attorney in this case.

We will continue to follow this story.

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