BELLA VISTA, Ark. — Details shared in a new court filing suggest companies related to Northwest Arkansas-based HGTV stars Dave and Jenny Marrs are responsible for a safety concern and nearly two dozen code violations for a house built in 2022.
Bella Vista husband and wife Mark and Sarah McGrath filed a lawsuit in February 2023 claiming that a house built for them the year prior had multiple defects and that the two companies responsible had breached contract.
The companies, Jupiter Rentals and Marrs Construction, are owned by Dave, one half of the couple that stars in HGTV's Fixer to Fabulous and Rock the Block.
After months of back and forth as well as failed attempts at court-ordered mediation, a settlement hasn't been reached and the two parties are hurtling toward a five-day jury trial scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2024, at the Benton County Courthouse.
Now, evidence shared in the filing reveals more about what led up to the lawsuit.
Court documents filed on March 29, 2024, reveal that a local contractor found nearly two dozen code issues and violations, as well as a "critical safety issue" on the property.
New Court Filing
The filing included Exhibit A, a letter from the McGraths' legal counsel to Dave Marrs, and Exhibit B, a report of findings for a structural investigation carried out by an Arkansas-based contractor.
In the letter, dated Jan. 3, 2023, legal counsel claims that professional estimations predict the following costs:
- Repair and proper construction of drive and walkways - $38,740
- Landscaping and grading, including installation of French drain - $47,862
The estimated costs don't include the nearly $2,000 expended by the McGraths in "attempts to discover the extent of flaws in the construction of the home."
"Please understand, these reports do not completely detail the remedial work that needs to be performed to rectify the many failures in workmanship but only represent my clients’ current understanding of the nature and scope of repairs," the letter said.
The report of findings echoed this, saying "Additional investigations and design analysis is warranted with regard to the roof framing, main floor framing, wall framing and wind bracing, deck foundations, deck floor modifications and attachment to the home, grading, and drainage issues."
"Given the young age of the home, it is quite possible that additional structural issues could express themselves over the next couple of years," the report added. "The problems, which we observed, will continue and worsen until they are corrected."
The report, dated Nov. 12, 2022, found numerous issues that necessitated repairs.
"It is our judgment that the home requires repairs for the roof framing, main floor framing deflections, exterior wall framing and bracing, reinstallation of the windows, vinyl siding, window and door flashing, and brick veneer," the report said. "Repair and redesign of the back deck to eliminate the water infiltration and foundation issues. Additionally, grading and drainage modifications need to be made plus possible structural improvements to the retaining walls."
Of the issues listed, one of the most glaring included the finding that the deck was screwed to the rim of the home instead of being bolted to the rim, a code violation the contractor called "a critical safety issue with the structural integrity of the deck."
"One of the leading causes of deck failures is inadequate connections to the building structure, typically the rim board," the report said.
In total, the report includes a list of 21 "code issues or violations" for various parts of the house, including the deck, floor construction, drainage, and foundation construction, among other things.
The McGraths are seeking the court’s judgment against Jupiter Rentals and Marrs Construction, as well as attorney’s fees and costs of litigation to be awarded as relief and costs associated with the repair of their property stemming from the defendant’s “failure to perform.”
The Lawsuit
The suit claims that the companies agreed to perform upgrades to the McGrath’s house, both before and after the $559,000 purchase, but the upgrades were reportedly never completed.
Court documents say that on May 22, 2022, the McGraths entered into a contract with Marrs Construction and Jupiter Rentals to purchase a property at Itetbury Lane in Bella Vista, valued at the time at $559,000, which the McGraths purchased and acquired ownership of on July 28, 2022. Inspections of the property yielded a list of upgrades that needed to be done and that the companies agreed to perform.
After the purchase, the companies had 30 days to perform most of the repairs, but the McGraths claim that never happened and that later inspections proved defects were worse than previously suspected.
“As of August 28, 2022, not a single item on the list of repairs had been performed,” the complaint said. “Since that time, the defendants by and through David Marrs have attempted some of the repairs listed but ... several of the attempts to repair have caused more damage to the house.”
Both Jupiter Rentals and Marrs Construction responded to the suit in March 2023, denying some of the allegations and saying that the contract “speaks for itself."
The companies claim that they had made efforts to address the repairs on the lists, but that the couple had kept them from doing any work, allegedly refusing to allow agents or subcontractors from the companies onto the property. They explain that, in order to perform the repairs mentioned in the contracts, the companies and their builders needed access to the property, saying that the McGraths needed to cooperate in order to get the work done.
Marrs Construction and Jupiter Rentals went on to claim that the alleged damage and deficiencies "resulted from unavoidable occurrences, by independent, intervening, and superseding causes, and were not caused by any fault, act, omission, and breach of obligations pursuant to contract, express warranty, or implied warranty on the part of this defendant."
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.