The West Virginia Attorney General has asked a circuit judge to shut down a charter bus company, alleging it failed to refund nearly $18,000 for two canceled school field trips.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit in Mingo County Circuit Court on Tuesday, alleging Cav's Coach Company and its owner, Christopher Cavender, reneged on an agreement to fully refund two canceled field trips organized to celebrate eighth grade graduations.
The two trips were organized by Kermit Area School and Crum Middle School. In both cases, the lawsuit alleges the company refunded less that 20 percent of the agreed upon refund amount.
"The filing of this lawsuit was necessitated by Cav's Coach's long history of defaulting on its obligations to consumers," Morrisey said in a news release. "Unless the court enters an order permanently prohibiting Cav's Coach from engaging in the business of offering charter bus and related travel services, the public will continue to be harmed."
Kermit Area School had planned a trip for students to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, scheduled for May 18-20. The trip cost $13,382. Court documents show the company contacted school officials at 9:45 p.m. the night before departure requesting to delay the trip, claiming it did not have the proper insurance documentation to meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Buses did not show up on the departure date, and the company only refunded $3,000 of the payment.
Likewise, Crum Middle School paid $9,000 to the company in advance to cover a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, scheduled for May 21-25, the complaint states. Upon learning it could not afford the trip, Crum canceled the reservation with roughly seven weeks notice, but was refunded only $1,500.
Morrisey is seeking $17,882 in the lawsuit to refund the Kermit and Crum trips; a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for every violation of the state's Consumer Credit and Protection Act; and a court order prohibiting the defendant from engaging in charter bus and related services.
Along with Cavender and Cav's Coach Company, the lawsuit lists AllAboard Tours and Charters as defendants. Both listed entities are based out of Cross Lanes, in Kanawha County.
The lawsuit states during an investigative deposition on May 31, Cavender testified the company has no money in its accounts, he is unable to account for how the money received from Crum and Kermit was spent and he could not promise when he would be able to refund the payments.
The telephone number listed on both Cav's Coach's Facebook page and state Tourism Office's listing for the company was not in operation when attempts were made to contact Cavender.
Tuesday's allegations are not the first of their kind against the company. Morrisey filed a lawsuit against Cav's Coach Company for similar reasons in 2010. Likewise, the lawsuit cites Cav's Coach's "long history of defaulting on its obligations to consumers under its contracts."
According to the complaint, on at least six occasions, Cav's Coach has failed to fulfill its contractual obligations to its customers by either canceling trips the night before, failing to show up the day of without notice, or canceling trips in progress due to a mechanical breakdown.
One trip mentioned in the lawsuit, which would have taken customers to New York City, allegedly resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars to those who purchased non-refundable tickets to Broadway shows and other attractions.
In the state's previous lawsuits against the company, courts ordered it to pay penalties in 2013 and 2014. Likewise, Marshall University sued the company after a 2014 incident, though the two parties settled the case.
Reach Jake Zuckerman at jake.zuckerman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4814 or @jake_zuckerman on Twitter.