Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced Monday his office has filed a lawsuit against Capital City Tree Service, LLC and its owners and operators, Charles Shaw, Janet Shaw & Matthew Shaw, for illegal and unconscionable actions taken against Arkansans during severe weather events in 2023 and 2024.
A news release from Griffin’s office said that states of emergency were declared in March 2023 and May 2024 after tornadoes and thunderstorms affected different parts of Arkansas. Many consumers suffered property damage, including trees falling on their homes. During those events, Little Rock-based Capital City Tree Service operated throughout the state as a tree removal service.
The lawsuit claims that in the wake of the storms, the company took advantage of Arkansas consumers by routinely charging more than $20,000 — and in at least one instance as high as $35,948 — to remove a single tree. In April 2023 alone, the company billed Arkansas consumers more than $450,000 for tree removal services.
Griffin said in the press release that Arkansas law prohibits an increase in price of more than 10% during times of emergency, and that in an attempt to circumvent this price-gouging prohibition, Capital City Tree Service insisted that consumers sign contracts requiring an eight-hour minimum, even though most jobs took less than four hours to complete.
Additionally, the company failed to provide consumers estimates of the total price of the equipment needed, and in the few instances where estimates were provided, they were substantially lower than the final invoiced amount. The suit claims Capital City Tree Service routinely rushed consumers through the contract on a tablet or phone and failed to provide them sufficient time before executing the agreement. Many of the consumers harmed were over the age of 60.
“To entice consumers to hire them, Capital City Tree Service told consumers that there would be no out-of-pocket cost for the tree removal services provided,” Griffin said in the release. “Instead, Capital City Tree Service repeatedly told consumers that it would only bill the consumer’s insurance company and work with the insurance company to resolve any payment.”
Griffin said despite those statements, Capital City Tree Service refused to work with consumer’s insurance companies and demanded full payment. If payment was not received, the company filed a lien on the consumer’s house, and in at least one instance, asked a consumer to sign over the deed to his house.
“This is exactly the type of business practice that our price-gouging laws exist to prevent,” Griffin said in the release. “I am sending a clear message to companies doing business in Arkansas: you will not profit off the despair of fellow Arkansans. If you illegally exploit Arkansas consumers, my office will pursue you to the full extent of the law.”
The lawsuit seeks full restitution for consumers, injunctive relief against Capital City Tree Service and penalties for violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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