CHARLESTON – A Charleston couple is accusing a Poca-based company of fraudulent sale of residential real estate.
Derek and Heather Jenkins filed their complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Triple A&C Properties LLC.
According to their complaint, the couple says they were induced into buying a home by A&C’s failure to disclose known defects, including a faulty electric system, a non-functioning heating and cooling system and a leaking plumbing system despite being told it needed only “cosmetic updates.”
Sarah K. Brown
| mountainstatejustice.org
The couple says they needed to move to a larger home after the birth of twins in January 2019 and saved enough for a down payment on a rent-to-own property. In late April 2019, they viewed one of the company’s properties on Berkeley Street in Charleston. They entered into a purchase agreement on May 3, 2019.
The couple later discovered A&C had been sued in March 2019 by prior occupants over the condition of the home, including the need of a new HVAC system and electric system and rotten floors from leaking pipes. A&C promised they’d repair the leaking pipes in the upstairs bathroom and the damage to the ceiling in the kitchen because of leaking pipes, but they never did so.
They say they also discovered a bed bug infestation, and “A&C further fraudulently represented that it was the owner of the property despite that it does not have title to the property.”
“When plaintiffs reported these problems to defendant, defendant told plaintiffs they were plaintiffs’ problems to deal with,” the complaint states, adding that they had to pay $1,300 to get rid of the bed bug problem.
The plaintiffs also say the purchase agreement also required they submit to a credit repair process or face a $200 penalty. They say A&C’s Andrew “Blank” McDonald said their monthly payment would drop from $900 per month to around $500 per month after the service improved their credit. But, the couple says there were charged $100 every month for this “service” until they canceled it because it didn’t improve their credit.
They also say the defendants have threatened legal action when they have been “a week or two” late on their monthly payments.
The couple says they can’t secure financing to purchase the home because the home is in such disrepair, and they can’t get financing to buy a trailer to allow them to move out of the dilapidated house.
They also say they have high monthly water bills because of leaking pipes and have to use space heaters to heat the home, causing higher electric bills. They also say they can’t use the dryer in the home because of the poor electric system, so they sometimes have to go to a laundromat. They also say they can’t plug in multiple appliances at once, and that they can’t use the garbage disposal without “blowing a fuse and causing the disposal to emit sparks.”
“Surge protectors in the home have caught fire multiple times because of the house’s faulty wiring and multiple electrical outlets are blackened from overheating,” the complaint states.
The plaintiffs accuse A&C of fraud, unfair and deceptive acts and practices, unconscionable inducement, prohibited credit services conduct and illegal debt collection.
They seek actual damages, a civil penalty for each violation of the West Virginia Code, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The couple is being represented by Sarah K. Brown and Bren J. Pomponio of Mountain State Justice Inc. in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 21-C-1117