Image courtesy of Realtor.com

Former New England Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham claims a Franklin homebuilder misled him about his company’s ability to complete a Wrentham “dream home” that Chatham had designed on his iPad, and had an acquaintance seek information on where his children attended school as the dispute escalated.

Claiming copyright infringement and breach of contract, Chatham is seeking over $1 million for the fair market of the home and another $108,000 that homebuilder Canterbury Ventures received from renting out the property for two years.

As the two sides argued over timelines and payments, Canterbury Ventures instructed an excavator to call a friend of Chatham and ask where Chatham’s children attended school, Chatham’s attorney asserts in a court filing.

“This overt threat to Chatham’s family was reported to the police and local schools. It simply goes without saying that this conduct represented a new low for defendants and the despicable conduct that defendants have exhibited from the outset,” a pre-trial brief by attorney Thomas McNulty of Boston-based Lando & Anastasi LLP states.

A pre-trial conference will be held today at 2:30 and the trial is scheduled to begin Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Chatham’s lawsuit seeks to compel Canterbury Ventures to complete the custom home and convey it to the couple for the original purchase price of $799,000, and an additional $271,615 to repair the home to conform to the original agreement.

“The Chathams have been forced to move two additional times throughout this four-year period, and live in an apartment ill-suited to their family’s size, with most of their belongings in storage, instead of being settled and comfortable in their home as intended,” the filing states.

Canterbury Ventures’ attorneys say Chatham breached the agreement by failing to purchase the property by a March 2017 deadline, and the two sides agreed to an extension until May. During that period, the Chathams attempted to leverage a series of upgrades to the home, according to a filing by attorney Mark Corner of Riemer & Braunstein.

“Looking for a way to leverage Canterbury off the property they owned, the Chathams sought to bring a lawsuit that Canterbury could not afford and would cause them to `accept their losses and move on,’” the filing states.

Canterbury Ventures rejects the copyright infringement claim, stating that the only copyright in the building plans is owned by Golemme Mitchell Architects.

“The Chathams have engaged in scorched earth litigation tactics throughout this case. It is plain that Matt Chatham, a former professional football player and current television personality, and his wife are attempting to use their financial resources to exert economic pressure upon Danny Lewis, a firefighter and operator of a small business,” Corner wrote. “The Chathams’ end game is utterly unclear.”

Chatham designed the custom house in 2016 using software on his iPad and hired Golemme Mitchell Architects of Plainville to convert them into formal building plans, according to the lawsuit. Matt and Erin Chatham sought a local homebuilder and signed an offer to purchase in 2016 with Canterbury Ventures for 25 Amber Drive within the Amber Fields subdivision in Wrentham.

According to the Chathams’ attorneys, the two sides did not use a standard purchase-and-sales agreement, but created a rider reflecting the terms of the deal in which the builder would buy the lot, obtain permits and complete construction before selling the property to the couple. The agreement called for a March 2017 completion date, but work fell behind schedule amid disagreements over additional payments, the lawsuit states. In July 2017, Canterbury Homes notified the Chathams that the sales agreement was terminated.

According to the Chathams’ lawsuit, Canterbury Ventures breached the agreement by failing to construct the home in a timely fashion, taking on two other home projects during the same period.

“Committing Lewis’ already meager workforce to be three places at once is quintessential bad faith,” the court filing states.