COVINA, Calif. - Rochelle Kirk and Scott Waters saw 200-gallons of raw sewage spilled in their home when they hired contractors from 'Catch a Contractor,' a Spike TV reality show.
Kirk and Waters claim the show is liable for the spill and they are suing for $2.87 million in damages.
In April of 2013, Kirk and Waters of California, say they were asked to appear on the show by a casting agent 'looking for families that have been abandoned by contractors and are currently living with construction nightmares,' according to the lawsuit.
Kirk and Waters said their bathroom was 'abandoned and never properly completed' by contractors they hired in 2012, according to the lawsuit. So they decided to give the reality show contractors a try.
Ironically, the show's concept 'was to help families who had been taken advantage of by incompetent contractors by coming in and completing the project the right way,' the lawsuit states.
After talking with the casting agent, the couple met with show producers who 'promised that in exchange for allowing the production company full access to their story and the house, the show would employ experienced, licensed contractors and crew to fix all the mistakes of the incompetent contractor,' the suit said, and the couple signed and returned a contract in May.
The couple names as defendants Spike TV, its owner Viacom, and individual plaintiffs and contractors. They claim negligence and violation of civil codes, claiming some of the contractors weren't properly licensed to work on the home.
David Schwarz, a spokesman for Spike TV, declined to comment, citing the network's policy related to pending litigation.
The contractors were given 'such a short time frame to complete the remodel' the lawsuit claims, that one of the contractors told the couple after the job began he was worried they wouldn't be able to finish the work, the lawsuit states.
As sewer pipes were moved, one of the sewer pipes was left disconnected, allowing about 200 gallons of raw sewage to spill under the shower, into the walls and underneath the house, the lawsuit states.
The couple say they made 'numerous complaints' to the show's producers and contractors 'about the failure to complete the work and the horrific smell but they refused to respond or make any repairs,' the lawsuit states.
By early June, the couple began experiencing 'severe headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, and abnormal drowsiness,' while assuming it was the flu, the lawsuit states, and the next month their children began having coughing attacks and skin rashes. While their children were diagnosed with respiratory infections and put on medication, a doctor suggested the couple test for mold. After detecting moisture in the home, they hired plumbers who found raw sewage after opening an area of the wall, the lawsuit states.
By August, the couple and their children moved out of the house and into a hotel during the repair and remediation of the mold, water intrusion and sewage spill, and they didn't return until early December when they were notified it was safe to move back in, the lawsuit states.
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