A Rye man who spent nearly $32,000 on new windows and doors to upgrade his house in Rye claims he got defective products that will cost $120,000 to remove and replace.
Peter Archer accused Wythe Windows Inc. and CEO Darren Macri of negligence, in a Nov. 7 complaint filed in Westchester Supreme Court.
“Wythe and Macri promised lasting value thanks to durable quality on the highest level,” the complaint states, “but delivered only defective products.”
Macri did not respond to an email asking for his side of the story.
Archer and his wife, Louise Murray, bought a house on Mead Place near the Rye business district for $790,000 in 2019. According to a Zillow.com estimate, the 4-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,500-square foot colonial is now worth more than $1 million.
Archer decided to replace defective doors and windows, according to the complaint, to reduce heating and cooling costs, improve security and make the house more aesthetically pleasing.
He chose Wythe, a Ramsey, New Jersey company that manufactures triple pane, high performance windows, and he agreed to buy two dozen windows and five doors for $42,270.
The deal required a 50% down payment, and the fixtures were supposed to arrive by Jan. 7, 2020.
The first batch arrived on Jan. 27, according to the complaint, and a second batch arrived on Feb. 19, 2020. Two items allegedly never arrived.
Archer says he made payments from November 2019 through January 2020 totaling $31,638.
He claims that every window and door was defective. Sashes allegedly fell out of frames, for instance, because screws were too short. Locks and latches did not secure the fixtures. Hardware became loose or damaged. None of the screens fit. One window could not be opened and another could not be closed.
From January through April 2020, Archer claims, he repeatedly called, texted and emailed Macri to fix the problems, but Macri refused to do so.
Instead, the complaint states, Macri said the problems were warranty issues and would not be addressed until Archer made full payment for everything.
Archer characterizes Macri”™s alleged response as “essentially extortion: Pay up for new products not yet received (and months late), or we won”™t comply with our obligations on products already delivered in a defective state.”
Archer says he refused to throw good money after bad.
He concluded, the complaint states, that his only option was  to surrender his deposit and work with other vendors and contractors to remove and replace the alleged defective fixtures at an estimated cost of $120,000.
Archer is represented by Scarsdale attorney Anthony Zitrin.
