Producer Wins Round in Home Construction Suit
A movie and television producer can move forward with all of his claims in a lawsuit against a contractor that the plaintiff alleges did "abysmal" construction work on his Beverly Hills home, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young ruled that there were enough details in Gavin Polone's lawsuit to support, for now, his claims against Shawmut Design and Construction for fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
The company's attorneys maintained in their court papers that the misrepresentations Polone attributes to an individual named Jim Schram in 2017 occurred a year before the work contract was signed and before Shawmut hired Schram. Therefore, Schram was not yet authorized to act on Schram's behalf, the contractor's attorneys further contended in their court papers.
But in his ruling, the judge said that after several failed attempts, Polone's attorneys, in a third amended complaint, more clearly established Schram's alleged authority to act on Shawmut's behalf.
"The newly added facts show that Schram made the same misrepresentations in spring 2018, when Schram indisputably had authority to speak for Shawmut," the judge wrote while directing Shawmut to file an answer to Polone's claims within 20 days.
In the suit brought in October 2022, Polone says he is seeking more than $3 million in damages, calling the Massachusetts-based company's work on his mansion "abysmal" as well as beset by problems that left the home with substantial defects that will be costly to remediate.
Polone also says that he wanted a contractor with experience in the luxury residential construction industry, including someone with existing relationships with top-tier subcontractors.
"Tellingly, and on repeated occasions, Shawmut was unable to obtain proposals from more than one adequate subcontractor for a scope of work," according to the suit, which further states that this forced Polone to source subcontractors on his own for work.
"Had Polone known of the bait and switch with Mr. Schram, and the fact that Shawmut never intended to hire local, qualified, and connected supervisors for this project, Polone would have never hired Shawmut," the suit states.
Polone's other allegations against Shawmut include breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Numerous cross-complaints have stemmed from the suit.
Polone has been nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, of which six were for outstanding comedy series for Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Shawmut Design was founded in Boston in 1982 and employs more than 100 workers in California. The company specializes in luxury residential construction as well as restaurants, hotels and sports entertainment projects.
