PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh home rental and sale company alleges that a local contractor and its owner committed breach of contract and fraud, when it failed to complete an inventory list of improvement projects and provided subpar workmanship on the one item it did finish.
Premier Group Holdings, LLC filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Sept. 24 versus Man of the House Services (MOTH) and Thomas J. Layhue. All parties are of Pittsburgh.
“On Aug. 8, 2021, Premier and MOTH entered into an oral agreement for home improvements to a rental property, owned by Premier, located at 301 Alice Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15210. MOTH is a licensed contractor with a contractor license number of 153864. Pursuant to an oral contract MOTH commenced work at the property on Aug. 31, 2021,” the suit said.
“Although, the property’s utilities were not turned on until April 23, 2022, MOTH did not have any issue working on the property while the utilities were shut off. MOTH required payments in advance, before commencing work on the property, which payments totaled $18,500.”
The suit adds that the defendants failed to complete the full list of improvement projects, as detailed in an itemized invoice.
“The only home improvement that MOTH successfully completed was the removal of 17 old windows and installation of 17 new windows. All other work outlined in the invoice was either not completed or not done in a workmanlike manner. On Oct. 13, 2021, MOTH sent an email to Premier, stating that the work should be completed by Nov. 13, 2021,” the suit states.
“MOTH’s contractor license expired in February 2022. Thereafter, MOTH ceased working on the property on July 19, 2022. Despite repeated demands, MOTH has refused to refund payment for the work they did not complete and the work that needs to be redone because of the shoddy workmanship.”
For counts of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraud and punitive damages, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $50,000, plus interest, pre-judgment interest, costs and attorney’s fees, and for such other or further relief to which the Court may find them entitled.
The plaintiff is represented by Paul A. Luvara of the Law Offices of Paul A. Luvara, in Carnegie.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-22-012080
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com