Ohio Dollar General stores reopen after temporary closures

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Dollar General stores across Ohio temporarily close down Friday morn, and workers, the company’southward corporate office and the country’s attorney general all provided dissimilar reasons for why.

NBC4 checked multiple stores in the Columbus metro area. Workers at the Clintonville location said they received a phone call from Dollar Full general’s corporate office telling them to shut. They did non know a reason or timeline for when they would reopen.

The store in Westerville, however, had more of an explanation on a sign. While there were no workers in sight inside of the Dollar Full general, the sign on the door explained it was “temporarily airtight for inventory,” and would “open at 11:30.”

Ohio Chaser General Dave Yost, who sued Dollar General in November, said he knew why the stores were closing.

“[They] are shutting downwards to re-tag all their shelf prices — exactly the reason nosotros sued them,” Yost wrote on Twitter. “Glad to come across this first step — but we are going to insist on the court order to enforce continued compliance with Ohio’due south market fairness laws.”

NBC4’south sister station in Youngstown besides discovered closures, and their caption lined up with what Yost thought. Employees at three stores in that region told WKBN that Dollar General’s corporate office closed the stores and then workers could perform price changes.

Later, at 1 p.yard., the Dollar General Corporation Public Relations team responded with its own explanation for the closures, as well equally an update on its storefronts.

“Dollar General closed select stores this morning to address an overnight systems error,” a spokesperson wrote. “This effect has been resolved and all impacted stores are now open up to proceed serving our customers. Nosotros apologize for any inconvenience this may have acquired.”

Yost’s lawsuit preceding the store closures focused on what he called deceptive pricing practices at Dollar General. With 12 different consumer complaints in hand, his function defendant the visitor’southward stores of listing items at a certain price on shelves, but sometimes charging more or double at the register. Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano took legal action of his own in December later on Yost sued the month prior. His inspectors found pricing discrepancies at eight out of 10 stores checked, and placed stickers warning of overcharging on their cash registers.

The Dollar General corporate office and its legal squad responded on Jan. ix with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit from the state. Court records testify Dollar Full general followed upward with a repeated motion to dismiss on Thursday, and claimed the state showed no proof with its accusations. Further, the defense added that overcharging at its stores is actually legal.

“The allegations are so vague and ambiguous that Dollar General cannot reasonably be required to frame a responsive pleading with any substantive value,” wrote Kimberly Due east. Ramundo, an attorney representing Dollar General. “The alleged price discrepancies are not actionable under the [Consumer Sales Practices Act] because they are governed by a separate statutory regime, which not merely permits toll discrepancies simply also subjects them to regulatory oversight.”

Dollar General as well objected to Yost’south earlier request for a restraining guild confronting Dollar General, which would force them to accuse the prices advertised on stores’ shelves. A Butler Canton judge volition consider whether or not to grant that restraining order in a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.