Hughes Hubbard Reps DCWP in Winning Pro Bono Litigation Against Moon Star Construction

April 2025 – The firm represented the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) on a pro bono basis in its successful claim against Moon Star Construction, a home improvement contractor in New York City licensed by DCWP.

In 2014, Calogero and Concetta DiGrigoli purchased their neighbor's home after it was destroyed by a fire, and they hired Moon Star to renovate the property. They entered into a contract for $315,000, which was meant to cover all work on the project, including building the foundation, plumbing and electrical work, and installing windows, doors and roofing.

By December 2014, the DiGrigolis had paid Moon Star $104,750, even though the contractor was behind on the agreed-on work. Despite the DiGrigolis voicing concerns about the quality of the work that Moon Star had done, Moon Star continued to demand further payment until the company abandoned the project entirely, just before the holidays.

The DiGrigolis had to hire another contractor to correct Moon Star's errors and complete the unfinished project. The DiGrigolis paid Moon Star $104,750 in total, $82,500 of which went toward faulty work. The couple ultimately paid $65,746.75 beyond the original contract price in order to finish and correct that work.

In November 2024, Hughes Hubbard, acting on behalf of the DCWP, filed an action in the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) trials division alleging in nine counts that Moon Star failed to complete its contracted work for the DiGrigolis and, in doing so, violated the home improvement licensing laws and rules, specifically, New York City Administrative Code and Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York.

Following an evidentiary hearing on March 17, 2025, at which Hughes Hubbard introduced live witness testimony as documentary evidence, Administrative Law Judge Michael D. Turilli ruled in favor of the DCWP, ordering that Moon Star pay them a civil penalty of $1,000 for each of the sustained violations, for a total of $9,000, and restitution in the amount of $150,435.33.

Jessica Lagnado filed the petition and appeared before the OATH trials division, with supervision and guidance from Marc Weinstein and Dan Weiner.