S. Samuel
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's lawsuit against engineering firm BVH, regarding pricey repairs made to his mansion, has ended with both parties agreeing to a settlement.
While details are still scarce, an official has confirmed the lawsuit ended today (June 5).
50 Cent has settled his lawsuit against an engineering firm over repairs and renovations to a Connecticut mansion he bought from boxer Mike Tyson in 2003, a court official said Friday. Details of the settlement were not immediately available. Messages were left for lawyers for the entertainer and the firm, BVH Integrated Services of Bloomfield. Linda Cohn, deputy chief clerk at Hartford Superior Court, confirmed the settlement. (Associated Press)
Architect James Cicalo took the stand in a Connecticut courtroom yesterday and supported Fif’s claims.
In court Thursday, Jackson’s attorney, Michael Feldman, asked his expert witness, architect James Cicalo, if it was important for Jackson to get accurate figures before buying the home. “Any purchaser wants to know what to expect,” said Cicalo, of FSI Architects. During several hours on the witness stand, Cicalo told Hartford Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott that he believes BVH was off on many of its estimates, perhaps by as much as $2 million. For instance, he said BVH estimated that a roof replacement for the 50,000-square-foot mansion would cost $250,000, but that the actual cost for the “roof replacement of the main house, I think it’s $549,000.” (WFSB News)
BVH Vice President Greg van Deusen testified a day earlier and said his company was only required to provide Fif with a basic examination of his home in 2003.
As the trial continued in Hartford, Jackson’s lawyer, Michael Feldman, called van Deusen to the witness stand and said the big issue is the company’s claim that it was only hired to do a rough walk-around inspection. “Point to me in the contract where it says that physical observation is limited to a walk-around visual inspection of the property? Those exact words were not used,” Feldman said. “What we’re trying to do is try to get as close to what we think the real number might be, given very limited information…They also make assumptions…I don’t know that they necessarily check every single light switch and every single outlet in a house, for example.” (Channel 3 Eyewitness News)
The company’s lawyer argued his client was not responsible for Fif’s expensive upgrades.
Mike Tyson’s ex wife originally wanted $25 million but 50 Cent bought the home for $4.1 million. The company’s estimated that 50 Cent would have to spend around $500,000 in repairs but he ended up spending $6 million on repairs and renovations about half of which went to things which 50 Cent’s lawyers say should have been included in the original estimate. BVH attorney Michael Byrne said that 50 Cent’s lavish upgrades made the difference and that the estimators are not responsible for the difference. (Luxist)
50 appeared in court on Tuesday (June 2) to testify.
“I would not have purchased the property with $1 million worth of work to do. To be honest I would not have purchased a house with $700,000 worth of damages,” he testified. “I would have felt I was living in a construction site.” (New York Daily News)
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