You can’t sue me for being a bad architect — because I’m not an architect at all.
That’s the nervy claim a Manhattan man made when he was accused of ripping off a billionaire motel mogul and his yoga-instructor wife for $145,000 in bogus costs tied to the botched renovation of their Bahamian vacation home, a new Manhattan lawsuit charges.
After admitting he wasn’t a licensed architect, Yianni Skordas actually warned the couple that they couldn’t sue him for professional malpractice, saying he “is not a professional,” the suit claims.
On the recommendation of a friend, Cendant Corp. founder Henry Silverman and his wife, Karen, hired Skordas in 2014 to oversee an $8 million addition to their Ocean Club estate on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas.
“Throughout their relationship, Mr. Skordas deceived the Silvermans into thinking that he was a highly qualified, professional architect,” the suit states.
Instead of the promised expert job, Skordas built a “jail-like fence around the property,” installed a “door to nowhere” and pocketed payments meant for contractors, the suit alleges.
Skordas, an East 66th Street resident, even tried to get the suit tossed by arguing that “the law is well-settled that only professionals can be held liable for ‘malpractice.’ ”
“Here, there is no dispute that [Skordas] is not a professional. Indeed, the plaintiff affirmatively alleges that the defendant was not a licensed architect. Because [he] is not a ‘professional,’ he cannot be held liable for ‘professional malpractice,’ ” Skordas’ lawyer, David Bolton, says in the filing.
But Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Saliann Scarpulla didn’t buy the “not a professional” excuse.
“Defendants who hold themselves out as licensed professionals when they are not may nonetheless be liable for malpractice,” Scarpulla wrote. She ordered Skordas to face trial.
The project included an overhaul of the 14,000-square-foot home and the addition of a guesthouse, pool and staff quarters. The Silvermans accuse Skordas of charging them $28,000 for skylights he never ordered, pocketing $37,000 earmarked for vendors and taking an $80,000 kickback for audiovisual equipment.