Caruso Corporation Landscape and Construction

On May 23, 2021, I contracted Mr. Caruso to do four things:

1. Install a patio

2. Put down a planting area to surround that patio

3. Construct a driveway

4. Place retaining walls around that driveway

Mr. Caruso failed to do any of them correctly.

He started late. He finished late. I filed Claims in Arbitration (American Arbitration Association: Charles Farrell v J.C. Caruso Corporation, Case number: 01-22-0002-0892) against him for the first two things and forced him to compensate me for the others after he acknowledged he had done them wrong.

Let me address each item:

1.) The patio that John Caruso installed fell apart less than two weeks after he completed it, with pavers sinking into the ground and coming up along the perimeters.

“THIS IS OUR FAULT...WE WILL FIX IT…”

It was unquestionably his fault. In addition to Mr. Caruso admitting so himself, the Claim against him was settled in my favor on September 1, 2022 for $17,850. 80, including Attorney’s fees, Arbitration fees, and filing costs.

Mr. Caruso was awarded nothing on his baseless attempt to recover legal fees and costs.

2.) The area surrounding the patio, meant to take on plantings, was a mudhole as put down by Mr. Caruso.

This was another item in my legal action against Mr. Caruso. It too was settled in my favor. Mr. Caruso suggested that all ground covering areas need time to “firm up.”. The Arbitrator saw no merit to his defense, and dismissed it.

3.) Mr. Caruso put in a driveway that was the wrong size.

He did this despite the contract clearly stating its proper measurement. Because his work was running well behind schedule, I agreed to allow Mr. Caruso to compensate me for the driveway error by enlarging the dimensions of the patio.

4.) Mr. Caruso placed one bluestone cap on top of another in one corner of the driveway’s retaining walls He tried to convince me that this was how the job was supposed to look: “You can never get it perfect.” When pressed on the issue, he was forced to admit and then fix his mistake. In compensation for the retaining wall error, Mr. Caruso paid an independent contractor to install a railing on my front steps.

The last time I saw Mr. Caruso, I informed him that I was going to file a Complaint against him. He told me, “Keep up with this. See what happens.”

If you sue or go Mr. Caruso to recoup at least some of your money, you may have to endure his use of stalling tactics to run up your legal fees to discourage you. He sent my attorney an email :“Look forward to litigating this in court the next couple of years”

If, you are successful in obtaining a Judgment against Mr. Caruso, that’s no guarantee he’ll pay you. The terms of the Arbitration Judgment stipulate that Mr. Caruso’s deadline for payment was October 1, 2022—terms he agreed to, but a deadline he didn’t meet. When he finally made his initial payment—one that represented less than 1/9th of what is due, an insulting note was attached to it. Mr. Caruso has sent no further payments, and has been unresponsive to all inquiries made through his attorney.

I will continue to pursue Mr. Caruso through each escalating legal channel until he pays the full amount he owes. But why put yourself through an unnecessary ordeal when you can hire a capable and honest contractor instead? In the end, you may recover your expenses from John Caruso. What is non-recoverable is the time you will have been forced to spend doing so.