Tubbs Fire victims say Tulare-based contractor is not making good on their rebuilds
SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- The Davis Family should be moved in and living in their newly finished Coffey Park home. But instead, 16 months after signing a contract with Chiaramonte Construction and Plumbing, they're still waiting for walls and flooring-- even though many of their neighbors, who also lost homes in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, are nearly done rebuilding.
"I only had seven minutes to grab my then six-month-old and three-year-old, run out, as we were driving off, there were flames everywhere. So when someone comes in and they're telling us we'll build your home, all of this stuff. Yes, please, anything. We want to go home, that's all we want," said Kristina Davis.
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The Davis' have already paid Chiaramonte Construction $134,000 of insurance money. When no work had been completed at the end of last year, they say they tried to get out of their construction contract, but say Chiaramonte threatened to sue them. So, the Davis' hired a lawyer and Chiaramonte broke ground on their home in December 2018 and promised to finish by May 2019.
But the house is months from completion and now the Davis' are worried about how they're going to pay a mortgage and rent since their fire insurance rental coverage ends this month.
They also say Chiaramonte is demanding another $140,000 to continue construction. On top of that, the Davis' have recently received 5 liens against their property, totaling $42,000, from subcontractors and suppliers, who have not been paid by Chiaramonte.
Dean Davis Jr. says they've had at least three project managers at their rebuild and says whenever he asks about work that needs to be completed, the project managers say, "we'll get to it next week." But the Davis' say they haven't seen a worker on site in weeks.
Turns out, the Davis' are not alone.
"What I'm hearing is absolute outrage and desperation from 40 plus families in my district, in my area, who have given money to a company who have now locked down, have not completed their projects or haven't even started those projects," said James Gore, who is a Sonoma County Supervisor. He says his office has reached out to Chiaramonte several times this week, but have not heard back. He's also forwarded complaints about Chiaramonte to the consumer fraud division at the Sonoma County District Attorney's office.
"We need to make sure everybody knows that it doesn't matter which builder it is out there, you have to do your background research. Reach out to us if you need help, so you can be confident that if you sign your name on a dotted line, something is going to get done."
As of Thursday night, Chiaramonte, which is based in Tulare in the Central Valley, has not responded to ABC7's request for comment
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