‘Kitchen Cousins’ Called Incompetent

HACKENSACK, N.J. (CN) - In a lawsuit, customers accuse the two men who star in HGTV's "Kitchen Cousins" of doing shoddy home renovations, lying that the house had passed final inspections, then abandoning the job after taking $211,000 for it.

Robert and Peng Avery sued the co-hosts of the "Kitchen Cousins" show, John Colaneri and Anthony Carrino, and their company, Brunelleschi Construction, in Bergen County Court.

Neither the TV show nor HGTV are parties to the complaint.

The Averys claim they hired Brunelleschi Construction to renovate their home in Tenafly in February this year.

The problems started in April, the couple claim, when Brunelleschi delayed ordering plumbing fixtures "for months," and then charged them for fixtures that were more expensive. The Averys say they "never signed the change order ... as the prices listed by defendant were inconsistent with previous quotations."

The Averys claim that on "July 28, 2013, defendant claimed final building and electrical inspections had passed when indeed they had not."

Five days later, the Averys say, "On or about August 2, 2013, defendant abandoned the project, without cause."

They claim they've paid Brunelleschi more than $211,000 for slipshod work, including "numerous gaps in sheetrock," improperly installed HVAC ductwork, incomplete plumbing hookups, improperly installed doors "resulting in wide gaps between the saddle and door jambs" and a toilet that was not installed to code.

Due to these violations, and others, the Averys "never occupied the home, because of its unfinished state and the withholding of a certificate of occupancy by the Borough of Tenafly, due to defendant's inability to complete the work in a timely fashion," the lawsuit states.

Finally, the Averys say, the defendants wrongfully demanded arbitration.

Brunelleschi Construction did not return calls seeking comment.

The Averys seek damages for consumer fraud, breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, breach of faith, common law fraud, negligence, and wrongful commencement of arbitration.

They are represented by Michael Kates with Kates, Nussman, Rapone, Ellis & Farhi, of Hackensack.

HGTV describes "Kitchen Cousins" on its website: "Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri run a New Jersey-based family construction company that focuses on turning mediocre kitchens into masterpieces."

The two also star in a new show on the network, "Cousins on Call."

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