Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway’s Office Obtains Restraining Order Against Illegal Lexington Business

Attorney General Jack Conway announced today that his Office of Consumer Protection has obtained a restraining order from Fayette Circuit Court against Oriental Rug Warehouse of Lexington, d/b/a Khazai Oriental Rug Gallery, located in the Lexington Green Shopping Center. The restraining order, also entered against the businesses’ sole officer, David Khazai, requires the defendants to immediately cease operations at the Lexington Green location. In addition to seeking injunctive relief, the Attorney General’s law suit seeks civil penalties of $2,000 as permitted under the Consumer Protection Act.

According to the complaint filed in Fayette Circuit Court, the defendant violated the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act by continuing to operate a going-out-of-business sale after the expiration of its license on December 26, 2007. Under the law, to protect consumers and other competing businesses, a going- out-of-business sale must be concluded within 30 days, or 60 days if the business obtains an extension. The defendant’s sale started on October 20, 2007 and its one allowed extension expired on December 26. Despite the expiration and notice from the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection that it was facing legal action if it continued to operate, the defendant failed to end the sale.

“It is unfair to ethical businesses and to consumers for a business to claim that it is going out of business, advertise huge savings and then to never actually close its doors,” Conway said. “This office will continue to vigorously enforce the Consumer Protection Act to protect Kentucky’s consumers and the ethical businesses in our Commonwealth that do their level best to play by the rules.”