Paul Shanahan, director of Greystoke Builders Ltd, played a key role during nine episodes of BBC's 'Cowboy Trap', in which he was called in to rescue 'disasters' and botched jobs carried out by unscrupulous rogue operators.
But now he is facing claims from widow and African studies academic Dr Zohor Aylwin that his employees left behind multiple defects after a £100,000 revamp of her £1.2 million home, including a “boot print of the company employee ” in the paintwork, a toilet that would not work properly. no flushing and a shower that is too low to get under.
However, the company denies they are “alleged but unsubstantiated defects” and is claiming £50,000 in unpaid bills for the work, in a case that has racked up £460,000 in lawyers' bills.
In online promotional material for Greystoke, Mr Shanahan describes “working with BBC1 as the good guys from the Cowboy Trap – going in and fixing the disasters left behind by previous builders”.
But now his company is locked in a legal battle with widow and Moroccan culture expert Dr Zohor Aylwin, after Greystoke carried out a more than £100,000 renovation of her £1.2 million home in Oaks, Watford, in 2019.
The business started when Mr. Shanahan's company Dr. Aylwin sued over unpaid invoices totaling around £50,000, after which she then sued the company over an alleged series of defects in work.
Her lawyer, Ashley Pratt, told Judge Nicholas Parfitt KC at Mayors and City County Court that she has a number of complaints about the quality of the regeneration project – ranging from the cost of replacing a boiler, substandard paintwork including the marking of one surface with a “boot print of the company employee”, problems with the newly fitted Howden's kitchen and a toilet that wouldn't flush.
“The shower was clearly too short to fit underneath and was clearly unsuitable,” he added, while also claiming there were “defects in the dishwasher equipment”, problems with the electricity in the kitchen, faulty tiles in an en suite bedroom – and also “gross overload” when installing sliding doors in a bedroom.
Dr. Aylwin disputes the claim, saying there were multiple defects in the work carried out which effectively 'wiped out' the construction company's £50,200 bill.
Dr Aylwin's lawyer further claimed that even in Greystoke's best case scenario, the debt owed would only be £44,000, highlighting that the company had not drawn up a proper contract or had a coherent billing system in place.
“The billing and estimating process was downright chaotic,” he told the court.
But in court, Greystoke's lawyer Paul Fisher denied there was evidence of the alleged defects and highlighted the north London-based company's “many years of experience in carrying out works of the nature carried out at the property”.
He told the judge: “Indeed, one of the witnesses and directors of the company, Mr Paul Shanahan, worked as an expert on the BBC television program “Cowboy Trap,” in which his team attempted to correct and compete with residential home work initially performed by “cowboy” builders.”
Mr Shanahan was personally involved in the renovation work at Dr Aylwin's home, the court heard, and had also negotiated the contract and the “scope of work”.
Mr Fisher said the company took on the project in 2019, with Ms Aylwin's son Idris overseeing the project for his parents.
Greystoke had sent a series of invoices to the Aylwin family, Mr Fisher said, and received just over £67,000, leaving a deficit of £50,200, according to the builders.
The company is claiming the right to recover its £50,200 debt, or ask the judge to assess what is owed.
“The defects alleged by the defendants do not come close to an amount that would offset or extinguish the total debt claimed by the plaintiff,” he told the judge.
Greystoke insists the team have done their utmost to successfully renovate Dr Aylwin's home.
Mr Fisher highlighted expert evidence showing that “the property had not been maintained to a very high standard before the claimant carried out the work”.
The decor was in “visibly poor pre-existing condition”, the lawyer said, adding that the previous poorly finished paintwork “clearly had an impact on the visual appearance of the claimant's works”.
Mr Fisher described the case as a “relatively simple debt claim that spiraled out of control due to alleged but unsubstantiated defects alleged by the defendants”.
As a result, he said the relatively small-scale debt dispute has grown into a three-day trial involving experts with total legal costs estimated at around £460,000, leaving anyone who loses more than £500,000 out of pocket.
The judge has now reserved his decision in the case.