CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - More than a half-dozen paving companies accused of developing a statewide monopoly to inflate the cost of asphalt have called for the case to be thrown out.

Booth Goodwin, an attorney for the defendants, said in a court filing Monday that the case should be dismissed because the West Virginia Attorney General is not involved, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported (https://bit.ly/2h7eMTu).

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the West Virginia Department of Transportation Division of Highways and mirrors other complaints filed by five cities, as well as the Kanawha County Commission.

The state agency cannot pursue the lawsuit against West Virginia Paving and several other paving and asphalt companies without “using the State’s lawyer,” Goodwin said.

Bailey & Glasser, an outside firm, filed lawsuits in October accusing the companies of creating a scheme to inflate the price of asphalt by up to 40 percent.

Since the state agency joined the lawsuit Oct. 14, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has not made any indications that he’ll become involved in the case, or initiate a bidding process to private law firms to serve on the attorney general’s behalf.

State lawmakers asked agency attorney Mike Folio about Morrisey’s absence from the case earlier this week.

“We’re working cordially and cooperatively with (Morrisey),” Folio said. “We recognize the attorney general is the state’s chief legal officer. Mr. Morrisey wants to be involved, and he should be involved in this action.”

According to records from the state auditor’s office, the state has paid West Virginia Paving $1.5 billion for asphalt and paving projects since 1994.

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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, https://wvgazettemail.com.

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