ProCycle in Columbia has denied an allegation by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon that the store broke the law with its advertising and asked the court to dismiss the attorney general’s lawsuit against the company.
Travis Ford, consumer education coordinator for the attorney general’s office, said in an earlier interview that ProCycle had been charged with using deceptive Internet and radio advertising. The attorney general’s office also said that price tags inside the store and print advertising were deceptive. David Ladwig, a Kansas City-based lawyer, mailed ProCycle’s, 2600 Range Line St., response to Boone County Circuit Court on Friday.
Ladwig’s response said the dealership, which sells power sports equipment, such as all-terrain vehicles, was led to “reasonably believe there was no merit in such alleged complaints” by the attorney general’s office.
“We continue to proceed toward trial,” said Ford. “This is a routine step in the process.”
A response was also mailed to Greene County Circuit Court on behalf of ProCycle’s two Springfield locations, which were charged along with the Columbia location on Jan. 9. ProCycle said in a news release from mid-February that it planned to open a second Columbia dealership.
“They coordinated their advertising campaigns, their employees and their management,” Ford said early in February. “It’s a violation of Missouri law to bring people in the door thinking one thing and deliver a different thing when it comes to paying the bill.”