North Carolina

Love It, List It, or Lawsuit? HGTV Show Sued Over ‘Shoddy' Home Renovation

The premise of "Love It or List It" gives homeowners the choice to love their newly renovated home or list the updated abode and move into a new one

"Love It or List It"? One North Carolina couple have chosen a third option: To leave it to the lawyers to sort out their issues with a popular HGTV renovation show.  

Deena Murphy and Timothy Sullivan are suing the production company for HGTV's "Love It or List It," claiming the series "irreparably damaged" their Chatham County home. 

According to the lawsuit, Murphy and Sullivan say they invested more than $140,000 with the production company, Big Coat TV, to upgrade their home. The lawsuit alleges the couple were "victims of shoddy work and unfair trade practices" that damaged floors, painted some of their windows shut and used "inferior products" on the renovation.

The premise of "Love It or List It" follows designer Hilary Farr and real estate agent David Visentin as they give homeowners the choice to love their newly renovated home or list the updated abode and move into a new one. The episode featuring Murphy and Sullivan originally aired in April 2015.

Murphy and Sullivan also claim in the lawsuit that the production company misused more than $65,000 of their investment. They claim Big Coat TV used the funds "for the production of its series."

In a statement to "Today," the couple's attorney said the company's incentive was "to make decisions that favor the television show but not the homeowners."

The "Love It or List It" production company disputes the allegation. "We believe that this claim is in no way supported by any of the facts of the case, and we will be defending ourselves vigorously in this matter," it told "Today" in a statement.

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