Family Wins Nearly $300,000 After Backyard Pool Nightmare
A Virginia family just won a six-figure judgment after a prolonged battle with BH Mid-Atlantic Inc. (aka Blue Haven). Lisa Dodd took the company to court this year, claiming that the company misled her.
According to the court documents on Justia U.S. Law, Dodd says that she began looking for a company to install a pool at her Colonial Beach home in 2021. She was initially worried about whether or not it was even feasible given her proximity to the Potomac, but she says that representatives from the company assured her multiple times that it could be done.
However, things started to go wrong within hours of beginning the project, which caused delays and additional expenses throughout the process. Not only that, but the pool company was accused of changing the contract when it came to the layout of the pool itself, telling Dodd that it would need to be shallower and its walls thicker.
When Dodd pushed back, she says she was told she would lose all of the money she had already given the company. Not only that, but they also told her that they would leave the work they had already started as-is, which would mean leaving a gaping hole in her backyard. Here’s what we know.
Dodd Had Already Paid Nearly $70,000
The contract was signed on Feb. 6, 2022, with the expectation that the pool would be 40 feet long by 20 feet wide, with a deep end that sat at 8 feet, 6 inches, and a minimum depth of 3 feet, 6 inches. Dodd agreed to pay $143,298 for the project, with the expectation that it would take 20 working days from the time the company received the permits.
Dodd said she sent a $68,000 check to project manager Tony Vallone, who assured the homeowner that there wouldn’t be any problems with the groundwater in the backyard. “I asked him if it going to be an issue and he said that it wasn’t,” Dodd testified in court, saying that they claimed to be “well-versed” in building pools in similar conditions.
However, only hours after they began excavating, the crew ran into groundwater and had to stop working.
A Proposed Fix Would Cost $11,476
Dodd then went on to say that Blue Haven suggested making changes to the pool’s structure, which would lower the maximum depth to 6 feet, while also increasing the walls of the pool from 7 inches to 12. The homeowner said she started having second thoughts about the changes and asked Vallone what she could do to get out of the contract.
According to her testimony, Vallone told her she would lose all of the money she had already paid, and that “they would leave the hole as it was,” she recalled. “They would not—they would not restore the hole. It would be—I would be left with this mud pit in my yard.”
Not wanting to lose the money she had already paid, Dodd said she felt “backed into a corner” and agreed to the changes on May 27, 2022.
Dodd Reached Out to Blue Haven About More Concerns in July
With the new changes approved, Blue Haven began working on the pool again on June 6, 2022. However, by July 12, Dodd grew concerned about the pool being done on time. And while she initially cut a second check to the company in the amount of $67,899, she later stopped payment on it after sending an email listing out her issues with the pool’s construction.
Dodd testified that the company’s president later called her, and that she “felt very threatened. He told me in this phone call that he had been to court eight times recently and had won all of them. And I just needed to turn the money loose.”
A week later, Blue Haven’s attorney sent a letter demanding payment. Dodd said she was worried about being sued, so she eventually sent the payment in the hopes that the pool could be finished.
The Pool Wasn’t Finished by the Aug. 4 Deadline
The company sent crews back out to work on the pool in August, but Dodd found several issues with the pool as it was being built, including cracks in the pool floor and side walls. A large portion of the pool was sitting above ground as well, reaching 15-18 inches, which was more than the 12 inches she had agreed to.
Not only that, but Dodd says that she learned the pool didn’t meet Westmoreland County’s permit requirements, and it sat 4 feet from her property line instead of the 5 feet that was required. The county’s planner, Darrin Lee, came out to the property to confirm, later sending an email to Blue Haven explaining how they would have to fix it. Lee said he never heard back from the company.
Dodd Was $147,982 into the Pool When She Started Shopping Around
Unfortunately, once Dodd realized that Blue Haven wasn’t holding up its end of the contract, she had already spent nearly $150,000 on the pool. When she called another pool company to see what her options were, she was told that she would need to spend an additional $217,743 to get it done.
Dodd felt like she had no choice but to sue Blue Haven, which she did on Feb. 21, 2023, citing breach of contract and violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
A jury found in favor of Dodd and awarded her $147,984.10 in damages. They also found Blue Haven in violation of the VCPA, and awarded Dodd an additional $147,984.10 in “partial treble damages,” for a combined total of $295,968.20.
Blue Haven appealed the ruling, but in the end, the jury’s awards were upheld by the court of appeals on Mar. 10, 2026. Backyard Garden Lover has reached out to Dodd’s attorney for an update on the case, but we haven’t received a response back as of the time of publication.
