Karen Andrea Interior Design, Inc.

"This is full of inaccuracies. My company does not owe any judgment to Bennett and never filed bankruptcy which can be confirmed by looking up corporate records online. After completing the kitchen remodel, and carpet and laminate flooring throughout the home, the Bennetts spent the remainder of the $40,000 budget in the design agreement with my firm on items not listed on the agreement, including painting the entire interior ($6000+), ($4000+) and building a closet upstairs. They were quite happy with my work, but because they overspent, they cancelled the design contract before all the items listed on the agreement were purchased. Per the terms of the agreement, if they terminated the contract prematurely the deposit was non-refundable. I presented a compromise which they refused. They sued me in small claims court. I proved that the Bennetts signed the agreement that clearly stated the deposit was non-refundable, but Bennett lied in court and claimed they never saw page 2 of the 2-page agreement which listed all the terms in detail. So due to a legal technicality -- page 2 of the contract was not initialed by Bennett-- the judge was forced to rule in their favor and told me specifically this was the only reason and in future to insist all customers sign both contract pages. All the contractors were licensed and rated highly on Home Advisor. Bennetts hired a reputable cabinet company in Simi Valley, Cabinet Sense, to supply the kitchen cabinets and they were responsible for the measurements and drawings. The Bennetts have a beautiful new kitchen and new flooring throughout and I was $15,000 under budget when they cancelled the agreement. In 30 years as a designer, I have never had to go to small claims for any reason before the Bennetts."