Woodruff Rd and Rocky Slope Closed

A portion of Woodruff Road in Greenville is closed Friday morning after a water main break, according to Director of Communications Pamela Flasch with Greenville Water.

A broken 16-inch main on Woodruff Road near Rocky Slope Road has closed the entire eastbound lane and the median, Flasch said.

The water main will take all day to repair, she said.

Price Gouging Reported in Hendersonville

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. —

A Western North Carolina landscaping business faces a lawsuit after allegedly price gouging victims of Hurricane Helene.

On Thursday, Attorney General Josh Stein announced that he sued Lorenzo Lorin Huggins, Sr. and his businesses for allegedly price gouging North Carolinians for tree removal services in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Huggins businesses include Huggins & Sons Yard Service and Lorenzo & Son Landscaping.

The lawsuit comes after a Hendersonville, North Carolina, couple found Huggins on HomeAdvisor.com after two trees fell on their roof during Hurricane Helene. The couple spoke to Huggins, who agreed to travel to Hendersonville and remove the trees.

When he arrived, Huggins told the couple they had to pay $25,500 upfront, Stein said.

The couple was worried the trees would cause their roof to cave in, so they paid with a credit card for the tree removal.

Stein said Huggins charged that exorbitant price even though he only brought three men, three chainsaws, and a leaf blower to do the work. Instead of removing the trees and the tree debris from the home and yard, the defendant’s workers dropped tree limbs and debris through the hole in the roof and into the house. The workers also allegedly caused a tree to drop and damage a retaining wall.

ccording to Stein, Huggins didn’t complete the tree removal and cleanup work, which meant the couple had to hire and pay additional contractors to remove a tree trunk and other debris.

Stein is seeking temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief against the Huggins to prevent misrepresentations and future price gouging, along with restitution, civil penalties, attorneys’ fees, and other relief.

“As western North Carolina continues hurricane cleanup and rebuilding, I want price gougers to be on notice,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “If you take advantage of people in their time of need and charge them unfair, excessive prices, my office will hold you accountable.”

Since 2018, Stein brought 13 lawsuits against 30 defendants under North Carolina’s price gouging statute. He has obtained 14 judgments or settlements totaling $1,080,000 against 25 defendants, including a $274,000 settlement that was the largest price gouging settlement in the department’s history.