Love It, List It, or Sue Over It

(Source: hgtv.com)

My love for HGTV is real and enduring. It started as a House Hunters addiction when I was a practicing lawyer looking for something mindless to watch when I got home at night and it has seriously spiraled out of control. I find something soothing about the formulaic nature of the shows; their familiarity is like a security blanket to me. And I’ve also realized that I’ve actually learned a lot about my taste. For what it’s worth, I do feel like HGTV has made me think more about how I decorate my house, even if I can’t afford a professional decorator. 

So I gobbled up with interest every single article I could find on the recent “Love It or List It” lawsuit. If you don’t know the show, it’s one of my favorites for the snark between the competing real estate agent and designer. One half of a home-owning couple wants to renovate their existing home; the other half wants to give up and move away. Enter the “Love It or List It” team, showing the couple houses they could buy while simultaneously renovating their home. The theory is that the couple can then decide to love it, or list it. 

I entertain no illusions about the “realness” of reality television (really, mostly I’ve learned from reality television that apparently an enormous number of people are tremendously good actors – while others are decidedly not), but this recent lawsuit attacks not just the “realness” of reality television but practically the *definition* of it: “Love It or List It,” the homeowners accuse, were much more interested in making a television show than they were in renovating this couple’s home. On at least some level, this lawsuit seems to be a challenge to what “Love It or List It” is: a television show or a general contractor. 

As a general contractor, the homeowners weren’t too happy with the show’s performance. They allege shoddy work on their house, including low-quality product, windows that were painted shut, and holes big enough for vermin to fit through. (They also allege their floor was “irreparably damaged,” although I think they can’t possibly mean that in the true legal sense of “irreparably,” because surely the floor can be repaired?)

It seems to me this is going to come down to the contract between the parties. What did “Love It or List It”‘s production company promise? I would love to see what the contract said about the work that was to be performed, how that work was to be performed, and what the financial arrangements were (since part of the couples’ allegations is that a large portion of their money was diverted away from the renovations). However, for some reason, I have had an incredibly difficult time locating a copy of the complaint (never mind the contract). None of the stories I’ve found linked to it, and I have had zero luck finding it through Bloomberg Law’s docket search.