The owners of a much-criticized contracting company are fighting back against claims of shoddy workmanship, claiming the allegations have caused them fear, anxiety and emotional upset, while destroying their business.
More for Less Contracting, owned by Calvin Gordon and Leslie Morris, came under fire in recent months from some Fergushill Estates residents who were upset over shoddy work and what they allege to be intimidation from the owners.
Fergushill Estates is a 40-acre manufactured home community near Orillia with 152 sites.
Some residents, including Dave Beeston and Margaret Gomez, are out tens of thousands of dollars and have banned the contractor from their properties. The company denies shoddy workmanship.
More for Less Contracting is based out of the Niagara area, but started advertising services in the Barrie, Orillia and Midland areas in 2017.
Gomez and Beeston filed a lawsuit in Small Claims Court late last year against Gordon and Morris, asking the court for $25,000 to repair damage done to their home. Gordon and Morris filed a counterclaim to fight the allegations.
In the counterclaim, Gordon and Morris are seeking $25,000 from each defendant for damages for assault, intentional infliction of distress, nuisance, breach of privacy, conspiracy to injure, loss of income and defamation of character as well as pre-judgment interest and costs.
“When the plaintiffs ceased the renovations on Gomez’s property, Beeston began his witch hunt against the plaintiffs, including but not limited to threatening, harassing and interfering with the plaintiffs other contractees,” reads Gordon’s counterclaim.
The claim outlines incidents in which Beeston and Gomez allegedly drove past ongoing work sites in their vehicles while making rude gestures and yelling obscenities, creating literature to hang in the community events boards to warn other residents against using More for Less Contracting services as well as warning other residents of Fergushill Estates in-person to avoid using the business.
“This caused unnecessary and substantial annoyance, inconvenience, irritation, embarrassment and the inability for the plaintiffs to perform their work,” reads the counterclaim. “The plantiffs [have] chronic feelings of fear, insecurity, shock, distress, trauma confusion, frustration, irritation, anxiety and emotional upset.”
The suit outlines that Gordon sought medical assistance for anxiety in October 2018 due to the alleged continued harassment, and was prescribed medication for depression.
The suit also cites the two news articles that have previously run in OrilliaMatters.com and BarrieToday.com on the subject; Gordon claims that when Beeston and Gomez spoke with a reporter, that constituted a breach of privacy.
“Due to the widespread internet reporting regarding the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs are not able to secure any work anywhere, and any contracts that were to commence have been cancelled due to the defendant’s actions,” reads the counterclaim.
The filing indicates that Gordon and Morris have had to re-pay deposits in the amount of $8,000 to contractees, had one confirmed contractee cancel a $15,500 contract due to the publications, and have lost an additional $10,000 in additional work performed and materials.
According to the defence filing on the counterclaim, Beeston and Gomez deny all the allegations. Their filing also alleges that the counterclaim is vexatious and, in their belief, retaliation for speaking up with their initial lawsuit.
Initially, the counterclaim named an additional plaintiff and five additional defendants, but it has been amended since it was first filed in November 2018.
More for Less Contracting was initially listed as an additional plaintiff, but has since been removed. The additional defendants that have since been removed from the suit are Mel Crim (president of the Fergushill Homeowners Association), Alma Hesselius (secretary/treasurer of the Fergushill Homeowners Association), Ian Cowie, Gaetan Carrie and Mark Sliwinski.
As the co-defendants in Gordon’s claim were all witnesses for Beeston and Gomez’s initial lawsuit, the defence filing states that the intention of the counterclaim is clear.
“We believe this to be a concerted attempt at intimidation from bearing witness,” reads the counterclaim defence.
The counterclaim defence filing indicates that no OPP investigations exist against any of the named defence parties, and no police reports exist in regards to any assault, nor do any medical reports or proof of injury to justify the assault allegations.
“All defendants deny any wrongdoing in protecting themselves from fraud, financial harm and harm from intimidation and fear,” reads the defence to the counterclaim.
At a settlement conference at the end of November, the justice determined that the matter could proceed to trial, once one of the parties pays to move forward.
As of Feb. 7, neither party had filed with the court to proceed to trial, however a note in the small-claims file indicated that as many of the parties are “snowbirds” (travel south for the winter), it would be unlikely the parties would be in until the winter months passed to do so.
Dave Beeston, Margaret Gomez, Calvin Gordon and Leslie Morris did not return requests for comment made by Village Media for this story.
