A Toronto couple filed and settled a lawsuit against their neighbors for replicating the design of their $5.8million home.
Jason and Jodi Chapnik assert that a house about half-a-mile (850 metres) from their Forest Hill, Toronto, home was newly renovated and made to look ‘strikingly similar’ to theirs.
They sought $1.5million in damages, $20,000 in statutory copyright damages and another $1million in punitive damages. They also wanted a mandatory injunction for the defendant to change their home.
In a joint lawsuit, the couple sued neighbor Baraba Ann Kirshenblatt and her husband Eric for copyright infringement.
Jason and Jodi Chapnik assert that a house about half-a-mile (850 metres) from their Forest Hill, Toronto, home (pictured) was newly renovated and made to look ‘strikingly similar’ to theirs
They believe that the defendants, who are ‘in the business of . . . flipping houses,’ did the renovations (pictured) to help increase their property values, while simultaneously decreasing the value of the Plaintiff’s unique house’
They also name her brother-in-law, Steven, in the lawsuit as well as the real estate agent and contractor who helped get the house on the market for a recent sale.
The Chapniks, in their 2014 statement claim, assert that their – designed by an architect – is ‘one of the most well-known and admired houses in the Cedarvale and Forest Hill neighbourhoods, in a large part due to its uniqueness.’
They believe that the defendants, who are ‘in the business of . . . flipping houses,’ did the renovations to help increase their property values, while simultaneously decreasing the value of the Plaintiff’s unique house.’
And while the two homes use the same shade and stonework, Kirshenblatt supplied images of other ‘Tudor’ styled homes to show that it was inspired elsewhere.
The defendant added that features of the home specifically ‘application of a single colour, such as blue, to windows, doors and stonework, and the application of ‘Tudor’ style stonework to a façade has been common to the trade for centuries, and is not protectable by copyright’
Close friends and neighbors to the plaintiffs were quick to point out the similarities and how close the two homes were to each other, presenting part of the problem for the plaintiffs
One residence that the defendants say inspired their property is the Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland which was used in the James Bond movie Skyfall.
The defendant added that features of the home specifically ‘application of a single colour, such as blue, to windows, doors and stonework, and the application of ‘Tudor’ style stonework to a façade has been common to the trade for centuries, and is not protectable by copyright.’
And while the allegations were not proven in court, the two parties did agree to settle out court, the information of which was not disclosed.
‘There is no admission of guilt or liability on the part of my clients, and they truly believe that they did nothing wrong,’ said the defendant’s lawyer, Jeremy Lum-Danson, in an email to the star.com.
According to land registry information, the Chapnik’s home was built in 1935 for $3.8million dollars. Renovations were started in 2007, a year after they purchased the property. They doubled the size of their house to roughly 8,00 square ft, confirmed by their lawyer, Kevin Sartorio. In addition, they redesigned and repainted wood-framed windows, mounted wood panels on gables and installed unique T-shaped stone corbels
‘To them, the houses do not look the same.’
According to land registry information, the Chapnik’s home was built in 1935 for $3.8million dollars. Renovations were started in 2007, a year after they purchased the property.
They doubled the size of their house to roughly 8,00 square ft, confirmed by their lawyer, Kevin Sartorio.
In addition, they redesigned and repainted wood-framed windows, mounted wood panels on gables and installed unique T-shaped stone corbels.
While the two homes use the same shade and stonework, Kirshenblatt supplied images of other ‘Tudor’ styled homes to show that it was inspired elsewhere
One residence that the defendants say inspired their property is the Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland which was used in the James Bond movie Skyfall
‘A tremendous amount of skill, effort, time, judgment, care (and money) was spent across nearly seven years in terms of designing, architecting and building a unique and beautiful house,’ said the plaintiffs in an email through their lawyer.
‘The events that occurred in relation to the house on Vesta Drive were incredibly distressing.’
Kirshenblatt bought her home in May 2013 for $1.6million, starting her renovations almost immediately.
Jason asserts that in May 2014, contractors from the other home visited and ‘indicated that they were building a house nearby and were copying aspects of his design,’ according to the investment firm CEO’s statement of claim
The retired-kindergarten teacher enlisted the help of her husband’s construction company, RKS Building Group, and his brother’s firm, Kirkor Architects and Planners, to help with the design and build.
They sold the home for $3.6million in Febrary 2015 and while they have never resided at the property, the Kirshenblatts have lived in the neighborhood since 2006.
Jason asserts that in May 2014, contractors from the other home visited and ‘indicated that they were building a house nearby and were copying aspects of his design,’ according to the investment firm CEO’s statement of claim.
‘These tradespeople noticed Mr. Chapnik and walked onto the Strathearn property to speak to him and study the Strathearn house closer.’
Close friends and neighbors to the plaintiffs were quick to point out the similarities and when they delivered a ‘cease infringing’ notice to the defendants, who refused.
But in their statement, the defendants cite multiple ways in which the two shapes, layouts and configuration are different. They even drew a table.
‘The look and feel of the two properties are so divergent in overall appearance, scale and context that to the normal passerby, any meaningful visual relationship between the two residences would be difficult to associate,’ said the Kirshenblatts’ statement of defense.
They had a consent judge submitted on September 21 to bring the lawsuit to a close.
‘Given the costs associated with the matter through trial, it was in the interests of all parties to reach an amicable settlement,’ said the defendant’s lawyer, Jeremy Lum-Danson.
‘The case has had a profound impact on my clients. For them it has caused an unnecessary burden and disruption on their lives.’
The Chapniks, through their lawyer, said ‘a significant amount of time and money had to be expended in order to protect our copyright.’
They added that the settlement ‘will allow us peace of mind to know that this should not happen again in the future.’