LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas couple is seeking justice from the company behind the popular reality TV show “Property Brothers.”
Both sides are locked in a legal battle over who is liable for repairing home defects, but the lawsuit has exposed the limits homeowners have for recourse.
“Our lives are on hold. We’re living in hell. We can’t use the kitchen. We can’t use like anything. We are in constant fear of safety,” Mindy King said.
Paul and Mindy King say they expected to live in their dream home when they paid the “Property Brothers” nearly $200,000 in 2018.
However, five years after their episode first aired, the Kings are suing the production company that was behind Jonathan and Drew Scott’s show, Cineflix, and several contractors and subcontractors that the company hired.
The Kings allege in their lawsuit that Cineflix wasn’t licensed in Nevada, and the contractors and subcontractors it hired did poor work.
“Prior to the ‘Property Brothers’ coming here, and renovating the house, the house passed multiple levels of inspections. and nothing was wrong,” Mindy King said.
The Kings shared several emails with 8 News Now detailing their efforts to get some recourse from the Nevada State Contractors Board.
An NSCB investigator told the Kings in August 2020, “I am recommending your case be settled in civil court.”
The investigators told the Kings they’d have to contact the Clark County District Attorney’s office if they were looking to pursue criminal charges, according to the email.
“We’re trying to determine exactly what they did in this house. “We already know we’ve had all this exposure to all these harmful things like mold, yeast, fungus, bacteria,” King said.
In October 2020, Mindy King notified the contractor’s board stating they could’ve moved into their house on February 25, 2019, but chose for April of that year to allow the contractor Villa Construction time to complete the deficiency list.
Cineflix hired Villa Construction and in November 2020 sent the following email to the Kings:
“I was informed that we’re considering recommending taking no action as I was hired by an out of state company that acquired releases and permission to conduct a renovation for TV purposes, and not by a property owner in the state of Nevada.”
That argument is why the Nevada State Contractors Board states the Kings aren’t eligible for its residential recovery fund.
The Nevada State Contractors Board declined to comment on the King’s case since the agency didn’t file any charges.
Cineflix declined to comment, citing pending litigation. The “Property Brothers,” Jonathan and Drew Scott did not respond to 8 News Now’s request for comment.
Both brothers are no longer with Cineflix, they have since started their own production company.
It’s important to note, that the Kings have not listed Jonathan and Drew Scott as defendants, only the production company they worked for. However, the Kings told 8 News Now they are considering adding them to the lawsuit.
In a statement to 8 News Now King’s lawyer said:
“The King’s case serves as a stark reminder that the televised world of construction often masks the unfiltered reality. It underscores the critical lesson that in the realm of home improvement, what’s presented on screen can paint a deceptive picture of what truly transpires behind the scenes.”
A jury trial is scheduled for October 2024.