Star Sues Builder Over Faulty, $2M Eco-Friendly Dream Home

Susan Sarandon lists 47 problems with Vermont house built for her retirement
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 18, 2023 4:22 PM CDT
Star Sues Builder Over Faulty, $2M Eco-Friendly Dream Home
Susan Sarandon, left, and Barry Bostwick participate during a panel on Sunday at FAN EXPO Comic Con in Rosemont, Illinois.   (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)

Susan Sarandon's $2 million, environmentally friendly dream home didn't turn out the way she envisioned. So the Oscar-winning actress sued her builder on Thursday, listing a series of problems, the Guardian reports, in the Vermont house where she planned to retire. What she wanted, the suit says, was an "entirely off-the-grid" home with solar power, well water and geothermal energy "in light of increasing global environmental instability." What she got was 47 problems, the suit says, as found by engineers, contractors, and the star's staff.

The shortcomings include missing insulation, buckled siding, and mold, the filing says. Also, nobody finished the bedroom ceiling. The filing said the construction company's owner inflated invoices, charged for work never completed, and misrepresented his qualifications. DeGrenier Contracting and Property Management, which Sarandon said collected but did not earn almost $140,000 in caretaker fees, did not comment on the suit, per Reuters. Sarandon, 76, bought 45 acres in Stamford, near the Massachusetts border, in 2018 to retire to. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages. (More Susan Sarandon stories.)

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