US: AG now takes the lead in state’s asphalt antitrust lawsuit

The state Attorney General’s Office is now taking the lead in an antitrust lawsuit claiming the price of asphalt in West Virginia markets has been inflated through noncompetitive practices.

In October, the private firm Bailey & Glasser filed lawsuits on behalf of Charleston, Parkersburg, Beckley and Bluefield. A couple of days later, the state Department of Transportation jumped on board the lawsuit.

The matter arose a few times during Patrick Morrisey’s re-election campaign for Attorney General. A legislative committee overseeing the state Department of Transportation has aggressively asked leaders in the Department of Transportation how and why the lawsuit was filed without the Attorney General. And lawyers for the asphalt companies filed a motion to dismiss, saying the only way the state could legally file a claim is through the Attorney General.

Throughout, Morrisey and his office had said there was nothing that could be said publicly while the matter was under investigation.

Today, Morrisey addressed his office’s involvement and said the Department of Transportation never should have gone on without it. He said his office filed a new lawsuit this morning and that the lawsuit originally filed through Bailey & Glasser on behalf of the DOT has been withdrawn.

Full Content: WV MetroNews

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