The Name Game
Turns out Booth and the Curtis’ have more in common than the lost cash.
Both Maintenance Free and Jesse James Construction are owned by Douglas Shanley. He’s also been involved in another company called Five Brothers Remodeling. All three companies have been slapped with judgments dating back to 2006.
Ron Booth is owed three of the judgments totaling more than six thousand dollars. He hasn’t collected a dime. “They told me there are 11 other judgments before me, I’ll never see the money,” he said.
Changing a business name is perfectly legal. Yet regulating agencies say unscrupulous companies exploit that with “the name game” – frequently changing their names to hide potentially negative details of the past.
“There are certainly businesses that are in business to skirt the public sharing of information and they get into a situation where they change their name frequently,” says Peggy Pender of the Better Business Bureau.
“He knows the law and how to get away with it,” said Kathy DeMarco, whose parents also have a judgment against Shanley. “He never shows up to court, never pays. He’s still getting away with it.”
