Susan Sarandon sues over ‘extensive problems’ at Vermont home

BOSTON, Aug 19 — The Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon has taken a construction firm to court over what she calls “extensive problems” at a US$2 million home she built in Vermont and where she planned to spend her retirement.

Buckled siding, missing insulation, mould and an unfinished primary bedroom ceiling are among 47 issues found by engineers, contractors and Sarandon’s staff, according to a lawsuit filed against DeGrenier Contracting and Property Management on Thursday in the federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Sarandon, 76, built the environmentally sustainable home on 45 wooded and meadowed acres in Stamford, Vermont, located near the Massachusetts border, that she bought in 2018 through the limited liability company The Right to Bear Farms, which filed the lawsuit.

Known for her political activism, Sarandon said she had a “clear vision” for a home that would be “entirely off-the-grid,” with solar power, well water and geothermal energy, “in light of increasing global environmental instability.”

But she said the Clarksburg, Massachusetts-based construction management firm’s owner misrepresented his qualifications, inflated invoices, charged for construction he never did, and did essentially nothing to justify being paid nearly US$140,000 to act as the property’s caretaker under an agreement struck after the house was built.

The firm’s owner declined to comment. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages based on claims of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraudulent misrepresentation.

Sarandon won the best actress Oscar for the 1995 movie Dead Man Walking. She stars as the main villain in the superhero film Blue Beetle, which hit theatres on Friday. — Reuters