Builder ‘destroyed’ their dream home, NC couple says. Now the company is suing them
A couple who says their dream home in the mountains of North Carolina is riddled with deficiencies and at-risk of being torn down decided to start an email blast and website to connect with other alleged “victims” of the custom builder that constructed it.
But the company said it’s been more like a smear campaign.
Schumacher Homes of North Carolina and regional manager Richard Smothers sued the couple, Keith and Dianna Buchanan, for defamation in federal court last week. They also filed motions seeking to prevent the Buchanans from reaching out to prospective clients and continuing to publish information about Schumacher’s business operations while the case is ongoing.
Attorneys and a representative for Schumacher Homes declined to comment in a statement to McClatchy News on Friday.
Jake Snider of Asheville Legal, which is representing the Buchanans, said they had their first court hearing Monday. He said a judge largely denied Schumacher’s motions but asked the couple to stop making direct contact with the builder’s customers.
Snider said his clients are willing to comply with that request.
‘I can’t sell this house’
Schumacher Homes is “one of the largest residential, custom home builders” in the U.S., the company’s attorneys said in court filings. It’s based in Ohio with “design studios” in Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and West Virginia.
According to the complaint, the Buchanans contracted with Schumacher in 2018 to build a custom house in McDowell County, about 100 miles northwest of Charlotte.
The house sits on a 187-acre family farm that Keith Buchanan’s grandfather purchased after returning from World War II, he told McClatchy News. It was a long-time dream he and his wife shared to build on the land.
But it didn’t take long after moving in to see there were problems, Keith Buchanan said.
According to a signed affidavit and other court documents filed Friday, structural engineers recently told the Buchanans the home’s foundation violated building code and was “completely defective.”
As a result, Keith Buchanan said, there are cracks in the foundation and on interior walls, the floors are sagging, multiple doors won’t open and close correctly and molding is pulling away from the walls — “all signs that the structure of our home is shifting and sinking with the defective foundation,” he said.
Keith Buchanan said they’ll likely have to tear down the house and rebuild, resulting in more than $500,000 in damages.
“I can’t sell this house and up and move and be done with it,” he told McClatchy News. “This was our dream for over 30 years and honestly I feel like it got destroyed.”
According to Schumacher’s lawsuit, the house was inspected by McDowell County’s building inspection department multiple times while it was under construction and after it was completed. Schumacher also made sure to correct the items on a “punch list” the Buchanans sent before they moved in, the company’s attorneys said.
When the Buchanans reported more issues after moving in, Schumacher reportedly sent a warranty representative.
But the company’s lawyers said that person wasn’t given access to the Buchanans’ home, “ostensibly because Thanksgiving was approaching.” The couple was then accused of refusing to engage with a warranty representative even after the holidays, which prevented the builder from remedying the issues.
Email campaign, ‘advocacy’ website
According to the lawsuit, the Buchanans — still unhappy with the build — got a hold of Schumacher’s client list earlier this year and sent emails that “spread false and misleading information.”
The emails included allegations that Schumacher doesn’t keep a general contractor at building sites, relies on “unqualified” labor, uses inferior building materials and has been banned from building in certain neighborhoods — all of which is untrue, according to Schumacher’s attorneys.
But Keith Buchanan said he stands by those statements.
In the affidavit, he said he visited the home site many times while it was under construction and saw subcontractors who “lacked direction” without a representative from Schumacher. He said some of those subcontractors “often did not know what to do or how to perform their work.”
Keith Buchanan also said they were promised cherry wood for the cabinets but received particle board instead and that some neighborhoods only work with certain approved builders because of problems with companies like Schumacher.
In addition to the email campaign, the Buchanans started a website called “Schumacher Victims” that advertises itself as an “Advocacy Group Site For Paul Schumacher Homes Victims.”
The website contains pictures of houses constructed by Schumacher Homes and links to file a complaint with the N.C. Licensing Board for General Contractors and the Consumer Protection Division of the N.C. Attorney General’s Office.
It also connects to recent N.C. licensing board actions, Better Business Bureau complaints and recent Yelp reviews.
Attorneys for Schumacher Homes said the “characterization of their website as an ‘advocacy group’ misleads the public by insinuating that there are numerous ‘victims’ of Schumacher Homes, Inc.” They said it was only created to further an “apparent vendetta” against the builder.
“Clearly the defendants’ motive is not for the lawful purpose of seeking redress for any alleged problems with their own home... and instead chose to encourage other customers not to do business with plaintiffs,” attorneys said in the complaint.
The Buchanans’ actions have cost Schumacher significant business as a result, the lawsuit states.
According to court filings, Keith Buchanan said the website’s primary purpose is to “network” with other homeowners who experienced similar problems with Schumacher and “put the world on notice of the drastic shortcomings in Schumacher’s work so that others may protect themselves.”
He said at least 10 other homeowners have contacted them about similar negative experiences with Schumacher, and that the BBB has received dozens of negative complaints regarding the builder.
“Between the terrible BBB reviews and apparent poor employee ratings, I am at a loss as to how Schumacher can singularly blame me for any lost business when its poor reputation is so widely published and available on the internet outside of my website,” Keith Buchanan said in the affidavit.
The lawsuit makes claims for declaratory judgment, commercial defamation, tortious interference, unfair and deceptive business practices and civil conspiracy.
Schumacher Homes is asking the judge to declare that the Buchanans’ claims were false. The company is also seeking damages and attorney’s fees.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Builder ‘destroyed’ their dream home, NC couple says. Now the company is suing them."
