A Pound Ridge husband-wife development team that had claimed their businesses were harmed when they were accused of botching a $2.5 million home renovation has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Marc Vandenhoeck and Joan Michele Rudolph petitioned U.S. Bankruptcy Court this month, declaring assets and liabilities of more than $2 million each.
Vandenhoeck is a construction manager and owner of Riverside Design and Build. Rudolph is an architect. In 20 years, they stated in a 2018 court filing, they had built 13 successful projects.
But James and Deirdre Glascott, also of Pound Ridge, sued them in 2016 for alleged wrongdoing in their $2.5 million home renovation project.
Vandenhoeck and Rudolph make no mention of the lawsuit in their bankruptcy petition, but they describe a situation in which they had to take out a second mortgage to fund their businesses.
They owe Bank of America and M&T Bank more than $2 million on a house they value at $1.4 million, according to bankruptcy schedules.
The Glascotts accused Vandenhoeck and Rudolph of delivering poorly-detailed design documents and creating numerous hazards for the home renovation and construction project on Mallard Lake Road. Three live, uncovered electric outlets were allegedly found buried under flooring in a sun room, for example, and a master bedroom fireplace was installed out of plumb.
The Glascotts also claimed that project funds were diverted to two home renovation projects in New Canaan, Connecticut.
By September 2016, project invoices indicated that 92% was done, according to the complaint, but really only about 70% was done.
The Glascotts stopped the work on Sept. 2, 2016.
Their lawsuit, filed in Westchester Supreme Court, charged Vandenhoeck and Rudolph with breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion of funds and several other charges. Rudolph was accused of architectural malpractice.
The couple denied the charges and filed several counterclaims. The Glascotts still owed $163,522, they claimed, and they had been libeled.
They “had never been involved in any lawsuits,” Vandenhoeck and Rudolph asserted. They have “impeccable reputations in the New York and Connecticut construction industry and the Pound Ridge community, and have been recognized for numerous awards.”
They depicted the conflict as a “garden variety breach of contract dispute” that the Glascotts escalated to a vindictive campaign that harmed their reputations and cost them business.
In June 2018, the feuding parties agreed to discontinue their legal actions. No settlement terms were disclosed.
Now Vandenhoeck and Rudolph state in an affidavit that they had to use a second mortgage on their home to fund their businesses.
They have $607,152 in financial assets, and their $1.4 million home is their “most significant asset.”
They considered selling the home, but given Covid-19 restrictions they said, “a sale is not feasible at this time.”
“Our goal in this case is to reclassify the second mortgage as a wholly unsecured claim,” they state in the affidavit, “and propose a plan that permits us to retain the home.”
The couple is represented by White Plains attorney Anne J. Penachio.
