Jury finds Virginia Contractor Defrauded, Systematically Overbilled Homeowner, Awards BLG’s Client $697,000.00 in Damages
A Loudoun jury awarded over $697,000.00 in damages to Bosson Legal Group’s client, finding her former home contractor’s conduct in renovating her home violated Virginia law. Following closing arguments by Bosson Legal Group trial attorneys Timothy Bosson and Arie Jones, the jury found the contractor liable for constructive fraud and numerous violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The jury also awarded punitive damages, ruling the contractor’s fraudulent misrepresentations and concealments were made with willful and wanton negligence.
“The jury’s verdict fairly compensates our client for what she was defrauded of. It also serves as a warning to contractors that unethical conduct will be punished to the full extent of the law.”
Lead counsel Timothy Bosson called the verdict a significant victory for Virginia homeowners. “The jury’s verdict fairly compensates our client for what she was defrauded of. It also serves as a warning to contractors that unethical conduct will be punished to the full extent of the law.”
The trial concludes a four-year legal dispute. The homeowner initially contacted the contractor in 2019, hoping to complete major home renovations. After inspecting the home, the contractor told the homeowner that they could begin work immediately at an estimated cost of around $450,000. The contractor represented they would bill the homeowner for the cost of materials plus an 18% overhead fee. Relying on these representations, the homeowner hired the contractor.
Virginia law requires licensed contractors to use written contracts that contain a scope of the work and specified materials, pre-set allowances for materials, and a payment schedule that requires the contractor to notify the owner of any changes in cost or materials.
However, after learning the homeowner had recently inherited a large sum of money, the contractor sought to take advantage of her lack of renovation experience for his own personal gain. The contractor neglected to provide a written contract, enabling him to secretly overcharge the homeowner. Instead of billing the agreed fees, the contractor systematically marked up materials up to double their normal price, represented the marked-up prices as the actual costs, then billed 18% on top of the inflated price. In all, the contractor netted 48% profit on work – over double the rate agreed upon with the homeowner. When questions arose, the contractor assured the homeowner these were standard business practices.
By October 2019, the contractor had inexplicably billed the homeowner for over $900,000, and yet was still far from finished with the renovations. Shocked at the expense, the homeowner paused the work and eventually fired the contractor.
The homeowner eventually uncovered discrepancies with the contractors’ invoices. Worse, after failing several County permit inspections, she discovered the work the contractor had performed was poor quality – far below applicable industry code standards. The contractor had also worked with an unlicensed subcontractor in the renovations, also against Virginia law. In all, the homeowner had been overbilled by over $200,000.00 and had to spend over $100,000.00 simply to fix the contractor’s bad workmanship.
The eight-day jury trial saw testimony from numerous witnesses, including the owner of a home construction company and other subcontractors involved in the home project. The contractor’s attorney defended the case on numerous technical issues, arguing that the mark-ups were industry standard and that the unlicensed subcontractor was to blame for the project’s problems.
The jury rejected these defenses and agreed with the Virginia homeowner, who provided extensive evidence of the contractor’s systematic overbilling. The jury found the contractor liable for constructive fraud and violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
In his closing argument, attorney Tim Bosson asked the jury for a verdict of $600,000 in favor of the Plaintiff. After a day of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict for $697,000.00. The damages award included $373,000.00 in compensatory damages, $131,000.00 in punitive damages, and $192,000.00 in attorney fees.
Attorneys Timothy Bosson and Arie Jones represented the Plaintiff.
For more information see Sarah Becker v. Faber Custom Builders, Inc., Antique Floors and Restoration, LLC, and Anders Hurd, CL21005659-00, Loudoun County Circuit Court.