SNELLVILLE, Ga.,None — A Snellville couple told Channel 2 Action News that a roofer mistakenly scraped most of the roofing off their home before realizing he was at the wrong house.
Mary Hill told investigative reporter Mark Winne she was shocked to come home one day and find her roof almost entirely stripped by mistake.
"I stopped the car, left the door open and stared at the roof. It was gone," said Hill.
But now the Hills say both the roofer and contractor refuse to pay the thousands it cost the homeowners to have another contractor install a new roof.
Winne was at the scene with private investigator Robin Martinelli as she lured contractor Chris Eberhart to Lilburn on a pretense and served him with a civil lawsuit over the mix-up.
Winne confronted Eberhart, who denied responsibility for the mistake of the roofer he hired.
"I don't have any control over what he does until he gets onto one of my job sites," said Eberhart.
The Hills said roofer Jose Guerrero was supposed to take the roof off another house on their cul-de-sac three doors down.
The Hills told Winne they were having their old siding taken off and had large garbage bin in their driveway.
Guerrero said Eberhart told him there would be a garbage bin at the job site, so Guerrero mistakenly assumed the garbage bin at the Hills' house must be there for the roofing job.
Eberhart said Guerrero has done work for him in the past but said Guerrero has his own company.
Winne and Martinelli went to Guerrero's home to serve him with the lawsuit. Guerrero openly admitted to Winne he removed the Hills' roof by mistake and said it was a big misunderstanding.
Albert Hill said, "It was a year and a half ago that we just had the roof put on."
The Hills said it was a 25-year roof.
The Hills said Guerrero offered to put a new roof on but that was too risky since he was not insured.
Guerrero admitted he was not insured but said Eberhart is.
Guerrero's admission is not in line with what's written on his own company's trucks: "licensed and insured."
The Hills said Eberhart refused to help.
"He laughed and said that it wasn't his problem," said Mary Hill.
The Hills hired the contractor that was doing their siding to install the new roof. They said insurance paid most of the bill for their new roof, but they are still out thousands.
To recover the money they lost, the Hills hired Martinelli, owner of Martinelli Investigations, to track down Guerrero and Eberhart and serve them with a lawsuit.
An attorney told Channel 2 it might be a close call legally as to whether Eberhart owes the Hills any money.
Eberhart said, "Guerrero took the roof their house and agreed with them to repay them."
Guerrero said Eberhart gave him the right address and he takes full responsibility for his mistake.
Guerrero said he's willing to pay $2,500, which is what he would've charged for the job. The Hills are seeking $6,500. Guerrero said that is too much money and he cannot afford it.
Chris Eberhart
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Jose Guererro
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WSBTV
