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Resident says she was tricked into signing mortgage for home remodel
YOUNGSTOWN
A Hubbard woman claims Energy Wise Home Improvement tricked and coerced her into signing a mortgage on her home by claiming the documents approved loan financing for remodeling work.
The civil complaint, which alleges fraud, breach of contract and warranty and negligence against the contractor, formerly of Youngstown-Poland Road, and its owner Anthony Porrazzo Jr., was originally filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in July 2018. The case is due for a pretrial hearing next Tuesday before Judge Anthony D’Apolito.
The plaintiff, Lynn Ritter, claims she contracted with Energy Wise in July 2016 to replace the gutters, siding and windows at her State Line Road home. Within about a year, the gutters had fallen off and the siding had begun to crack and the contractor refused to honor a warranty on the latter. The windows were also improperly installed or violated federal standards, the complaint states.
Though Energy Wise offered to finance the work with an unsecured loan, the documents given to Ritter to sign were actually mortgage documents, the complaint states.
“The plaintiff had no intent to take a mortgage out and was not seeking to finance [the] siding with a mortgage,” the complaint states. “The defendant coerced her into signing the mortgage documents.”
Porrazzo and Energy Wise are being represented by Columbiana attorney Joseph Bishara.
A jury trial is set for July 16 before Judge D’Apolito.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in November filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against Energy Wise, alleging the business violated the state’s Consumer Rights Act by failing to complete promised services, performing substandard work and refusing to honor warranties.
More than 180 complaints from Mahoning Valley residents have been filed against Energy Wise since it shuttered abruptly in October.