Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
A Florida-based company has been barred from performing any further tree or arborist services in Louisiana after being found in violation of unfair trade practices and price gouging for work the firm did in the wake of Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The state Attorney General’s Office said that in addition to violating the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and a state price-gouging law, Joiner’s Tree Service LLC and owner Jeffery Joiner were also fined $25,000. The permanent injunction was signed in September by Judge John A. Keller of the 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington and announced by Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office this month.
The order bars Joiner’s Tree Service from contracting or soliciting business in the state to carry out tree services, including trimming, cutting and removal, stump removal and grinding, and risk-assessment services, according to the judgment.
“The judgment further enjoins Joiner from pursuing any action to collect payments of remaining unpaid invoices, totaling $126,120 from Louisiana consumers and their insurers for tree-removal services performed in Louisiana during the state of emergency for Hurricane Ida,” Murrill’s office reported.
Joiner’s company operated in the state without a proper license from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Attorney General’s Office said in a news release. In addition, the office accused the company of obtaining assignment of benefits from Louisiana property owners using a program called “Jot Form.”
“Despite requests from consumers, Joiner refused to provide estimates of the costs of services and copies of contracts, stating that he would bill the consumers’ insurers directly,” the Attorney General’s Office reported. “Joiner promised the consumers would owe ‘zero’ to Joiner if their insurers did not pay. Within days of performing tree-removal services and returning to Florida, Joiner demanded payment of over $100,000 each from several consumers through their insurance companies.”
Although Murrill said the case was about holding companies accountable, Joiner expressed frustration with the state’s legal system.
“I spent $18,000 in attorney fees in the five years that it took them to get me to a trial and was advised by my Louisiana attorney to let them pound their chest and win the case,” he said in an email to the Louisiana Record. “It would cost me less than to take it to trial.”
Joiner never accepted compensation that would amount to price gouging, he said.
“I never solicited any Louisiana civilians or residents,” Joiner said. “They came to me and requested help.”
The billing issues raised in the case were simply the result of a “computer error,” he said, adding that the information was revised and resubmitted to insurance companies before any collections were accepted.
In addition, there were limits on how much he could be fined, but the court exceeded those limits because Joiner’s Tree Service was not local, according to Joiner.
“I wouldn’t have ever considered it when a state screams, ‘Help!’ and people drive from multiple states away to help,” he said. “But Louisiana laws have loopholes so they can make money off of the people that help them. What a joke.”
The Attorney General’s Office filed the initial lawsuit on Dec. 2, 2021, after what the office said was a thorough investigation.
“Price gouging during an emergency is illegal and will not be tolerated in Louisiana,” Murrill said in a prepared statement. “It is especially offensive for companies or individuals to target our people at a time of loss and vulnerability. We will hold them accountable.”
