A Chicago subcontractor who worked on a property featured on the reality TV show “Windy City Rehab” is suing co-host Donovan Eckhardt and his company, saying he’s still owed money for work he did on another rehabbing project.
The litigation comes on the heels of a fraud lawsuit by a Lincoln Square couple against Eckhardt, his show co-host Alison Victoria and the subcontractor. The couple is trying to force Victoria (whose real name is Alison Gramenos) and Eckhardt to take back a $1.36 million house, which they say is defective and leaking.
Subcontractor Ermin Pajazetovic’s company, Space Builders Inc., filed its lawsuit against Eckhardt and Greymark Development Group on Dec. 30 — the same day the Lincoln Square couple’s complaint was filed.
Space Builders claims it is owed $108,500 for work it performed at 612 W. Stratford Place in Lake View. Eckhardt did not respond to requests for comment. A hearing is scheduled for March 3.
The lawsuit is another indication Eckhardt could be having financial problems.
In the suit over the Lincoln Square home, Anna and James Morrissey allege the defendants never installed a promised new roof and did shoddy work on the rehabbed brick home they purchased at 2308 W. Giddings St. The home was featured on the first season of “Windy City Rehab.”
An attachment filed with the lawsuit says Victoria and Eckhardt agreed to reimburse them for the cost of a new roof, but a check from Greymark bounced.
Eckhardt “claims he ‘has no money’ because closings were delayed on other properties,” reads a text message from James Morrissey that is included in the attachment.
Other problems their lawsuit alleges:
- The day after the Morrisseys closed on their 4,000-square-foot luxury home, an upper-floor shower leaked gallons of water into the kitchen ceiling below.
• The existing roof failed, causing “leaks and water penetration” into the masonry, walls, windows and through the ceiling.
• “Nearly every window” was installed incorrectly, causing water to leak through windows in the master bathroom, master closet, at the top of the second-floor stairs and in three bedrooms.
• Large areas of masonry and mortar are crumbling on the outside of the house, allowing water to seep in.
Victoria declined to comment on the couple’s lawsuit but said in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times, “I worked directly with the Morrissey’s [sic] to resolve any issues of concern related to their home renovation.”
