Sofia Vergara Fires Back at Contractors Who Claim They Weren’t Paid for Work on L.A. Home: ‘False Narrative’

Sofia Vergara is speaking out after being sued in December by her Los Angeles home renovation contractor.

In a counterclaim obtained by PEOPLE, Vergara’s attorney Martin Singer alleges on behalf of Modern family star, 51, that the lawsuit was filed in error by her contractor, Reside Custom Homes, and that he sought to “publish a false story” to divert attention from what he claims was a breach of contract.

By filing the lawsuit, he alleges, Reside also intended to “embarrass” Vergara as a “public figure.”

The filing alleges that Reside negligently performed work on Vergara’s home that resulted in $5 million in damages as a result of delays, failure to make necessary repairs and ignoring reports from on-site representatives that pointed to faulty work and cost overruns. Singer claims that the representative, James Idom, was removed from the project for drawing attention to these errors.

The document states that both parties, Vergara and Reside, allegedly agreed to resolve all disputes privately through arbitration, but Reside decided to file a lawsuit instead. Singer claims that this action proves that their goal was to “publish mischaracterized facts and put public pressure on Vergara.”

The contractors who renovated her LA mansion are suing Sofia Vergara for $1.7 million for allegedly unpaid work

According to a complaint filed by Reside on Nov. 27 and obtained by PEOPLE, Vergara allegedly failed to pay two bills for completed work on her Los Angeles mansion totaling $1,700,492.64. The filing accuses the star of breach of contract, fraud and intentional interference with contractual relations, among other claims.

Vergara’s attorney, Martin Singer, said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time, “My client filed claims against the contractor, Reside, several months prior to the filing of this fraudulent lawsuit. Sofia Vergara’s claims related to significant overcharging by Reside, poor quality and negligence work, and long delays seeking damages in excess of $5 million.”

He added: “We are confident that my client will prevail in this dispute.”

Records show that Vergara bought the house for about $26 million in 2020, while she was still married to ex-husband Joe Manganiello. The couple announced they were separating after 7 years of marriage in July 2023. The lawsuit claims she moved in in March 2023.

In the luxury real estate portfolio of Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello

Sofia Vergara/Instagram

According to the documents — which list Vergara and her business partner, Latin World Entertainment CEO and founder Luis Balaguer as the owners of the property — RCH completed the work Vergara originally hired them to do in December 2022, when they say she requested additional work that stretched both the timeline and budget.

Two invoices for that work, for $896,196.15 and $657,245.23, remained unpaid, they claim. In response, RCH placed a mechanic’s lien on the property in August.

RCH disputes the statement from Vergara’s lawyer, claiming that she never complained about the quality of the work during the renovation despite regular inspections, and only raised her complaints “some seven months later and only after RCH recorded a lien on the property.”

Sofia Vergara & Joe Manganiello Are Selling Their Beverly Hills Mansion Again For $18 Million — See Inside!

sofiavergara/Instagram

RCH also claims that their employees and subcontractors were mistreated on the construction site.

“During the course of RCH’s work on the property, Vergara would routinely have aggressive outbursts and humiliate, ridicule, harass and seek to intimidate RCH employees, representatives and subcontractors, among others,” the complaint states.

It continues: “Vergara’s outbursts became so frequent and severe that it became difficult for RCH to keep subcontractors engaged and willing to continue working on the project.” They claim they would often have to convince workers “not to quit” because of what they describe as “pervasive, abusive and hostile behaviour”.

Things escalated in October 2023 when RCH claimed that “Vergara hired an attorney to harass RCH (and others) with baseless allegations of wrongdoing and threats of litigation.”

Kevin Winter/Getty, Trae Patton/NBC via Getty

The actress has had what she described as a “very interesting and very long year,” she told PEOPLE in November during the Toty Transform AHA launch party.

“I got divorced this year. The SAG strike that went on for so long,” she continued. On July 18, the actress announced in a joint statement that she was parting ways with Real blood star husband after seven years of marriage.

“We have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the estranged couple said in a statement to Page six. “As two people who love and care for each other very much, we kindly ask that our privacy be respected at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.”

However, while she told PEOPLE that there have been a few obstacles for both her personally and the show as a whole, she believes a brighter future is on the way. “Not that it’s bad,” Vergara continued. “I think all the things are working out, everything will be fine and I’m very excited about next year.”

After splitting with Manganiella, Vergara started dating boyfriend Justin Saliman, an orthopedic surgeon. The couple were first photographed together in October, when they went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills to celebrate Kim Kardashian’s birthday.

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