A Sierra Vista couple scammed out of $16,000 by a Tucson renovation contractor has filed a lawsuit against the company and its surety bond issuer after being told that the fund set up to reimburse such customers has run out of money.
According to the June 5 lawsuit filed in Cochise County Superior Court, Michael B. Thornburg and Nancy M. Thornburg contracted We Fix Ugly Houses in 2018 to perform renovation work on a house the couple owned. The cost of the job was set at $50,000 including a $16,000 down payment which the Thornburgs paid Sept. 10, 2018.
“(Ugly Houses) subsequently failed to perform any of the renovations they agreed to,” the lawsuit contends. “(Ugly Houses) refused to perform or return the $16,000 down payment.”
As a result, the couple reported the matter to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) which was already looking into other allegations against We Fix Ugly Houses. In May 2019 the ROC announced the revocation of the company’s license amid customer losses of nearly $125,000.
Then last month, the ROC revoked the license for We Can Fix It Remodeling LLC, which took over operation of We Fix Ugly Houses following a tradename dispute with another company.
The Thornburgs filed a $16,000 claim with the ROC’s Recovery Fund only to be told the state agency had no money available to pay out on their claim. The Recovery Fund is funded by licensed Arizona residential contractors.
Court records show the Thornburgs also filed a claim with RLI Insurance Company which had issued a $9,000 contractor license bond for We Can Fix It. However, RLI denied the claim, noting the couple must first file a civil lawsuit -at a cost of nearly $300- and obtain a court-ordered judgment against the bond.
The lawsuit seeks a $16,000 judgment and an order that RLI payout the $9,000 bond. The remainder of the judgment, along with attorney fees, court costs, and interest, would go against the renovation companies.
Court records show the case has been assigned to Judge David Thorn.