Couple demands $200,000 from Putnam contractor paid $40,000 to build wells

UPDATE: The outcome of this lawsuit is noted below.

A Lake Peekskill contractor who was paid $40,000 to dig wells on a New Canaan, Connecticut property now allegedly owes the clients more than $200,000 for work not done.

Nicholas and Lori Harris, of Boise, Idaho, sued Jason R. Heyen on June 2 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Poughkeepsie, objecting to his plan to discharge his debts.

Heyen owes them $203,555, they argue, for fraud or larceny.

In 2013, the Harrises built a 6,000-square-foot colonial house on a 1.3-acre property in New Canaan.

The couple paid Heyen more than $40,000, according to the complaint, to dig three wells and install a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Heyen, who operated Heat of the Earth Inc., Yorktown Heights, hired a subcontractor to dig the wells. He appeared on the job site sporadically, the complaint states, and then disappeared.

When Nicholas Harris eventually found Heyen, according to the complaint, the contractor blamed his lack of communication on dropping his phone in a bucket of water. He admitted that he was not licensed in Connecticut to do the work and he promised to find a licensed subcontractor to complete the job.

Later, Heyen allegedly said he was unable to find a subcontractor. The Harrises demanded return of the $40,000.

Heyen responded that he did not have the money, the complaint states, and he had paid the original subcontractor $25,000. But the Harrises say they discovered that the subcontractor was hired for $10,000 and was not paid.

The Harrises sued Heyen in Stamford Superior Court in 2013 and won a $105,393 judgement in 2014.

They registered the judgment in Putnam Supreme Court in 2015. By then the debt had grown to $123,468 and was continuing to increase at 9% interest per annum.

This past March, Heyen petitioned for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, declaring $144,144 in assets and $289,858 in liabilities.

He had made $5,000 in the first two months of the year, $0 last year, and $3,000 in 2021.

Heyen listed Heat of the Earth Inc. as dissolved in 2013 and a newer business, Westchester Geothermal Inc., as dormant.

He acknowledged the Harrises’ $123,468 court judgment.

But as of March, according to the Harrises, the obligation had increased, with interest, to $203,555.

The Harrises’ attorney, Dawn Kirby, argued that Heyen may not use bankruptcy to discharge his debts because he obtained their money by making statements with intent to deceive, his actions were fraudulent, and his conduct was willful and malicious.

NOTE:  Heyen’s attorney, Linda M. Tirelli, White Plains, argued in a dismissal motion that the complaint is  insufficiently specific to support a charge of fraud for which relief may be granted.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia G. Morris granted the motion and dismissed the case on Oct. 3, 2023.