Neighbors not happy with rainbow-colored, paint splattered house in North Naples

A rainbow-colored house in the small gated community of Il Regalo in North Naples is anything but pretty.

Neither is the story behind it.

Court documents show it's part of an ugly fight between a father and a son, who bought the property together a few years ago: Jeffrey Liebman and his father Dennis Liebman.

The half-a-million-dollar, single-family home — at 6913 Il Regalo Circle, off Orange Blossom Drive — looks like a do-it-yourself disaster, with more colors on it than there are in a bag of Skittles. It's dripping with splashes and splotches of blue, orange, yellow, green, red, purple and pink paint that even cover some of the windows, so you can't see inside.

The vibrant paint scheme — like graffiti art gone bad — extends to the trees, pavers, lawn and mailbox. It was even on a work van parked in the driveway of the home against community rules, but neighbors say it has disappeared.

The van had "Who is Omar?" sprayed in white on its side, leaving his neighbors scratching their heads.

Tie-die might have come back into style, but neighbors in the usually quiet, family-friendly lakefront community of less than 40 homes aren't happy about the psychedelic paint job, complaining to their homeowners association and the media.

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Amber Chapman, who lives across the street from the problem house, said she saw the destruction unfold over a couple of weeks time. The last straw, she said, was when Jeffrey painted a majestic Royal Palm in his front yard pink, blue and yellow, with long rollers.

"I'm most mad about the tree," she said. " I don't know how you fix that."

She said Jeffrey has since moved out of the home, although some of his belongings are still sitting outside on pallets in the driveway.

"He did have the entire house lit up with spotlights for evening viewing, but those have either been unplugged or the power has been shut off," Chapman said.

Now that he's moved out, Chapman said she hopes to see the property get cleaned up.

It appears there may not be a quick fix, however, as the property is caught up in a legal — and personal — battle between the Liebmans.

Property records show the two men purchased the home together as 50-50 owners in August 2017 for $500,000.

Less than two years later, Dennis Liebman filed a lawsuit to partition — or divide — the property and force a sale.

The home, built in 2006, currently has an assessed value of $528,623. It has three bedrooms, with three bathrooms, spanning 2,517 square feet.

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Up for sale

Last July, the court granted a final judgment and ordered Jeffrey Liebman, 40, to cooperate in a private sale of the property. According to court documents, he hasn't cooperated, instead putting up roadblocks to prevent a sale, from refusing to allow realtors inside the home to filing for personal bankruptcy protection to damaging the property.

Neighbors reported seeing Jeffrey spray paint the property — already splashed with bold colors — in the past two weeks, doing further damage.

Dennis Liebman recently filed an emergency motion for contempt in reaction to what he described as his son's "contumacious disregard" of a court order, suggesting that his son be jailed for his actions, including his destruction to their shared property.

The younger Liebman recently got out of jail after posting bond in an unrelated case.

Collier County sheriff's deputies arrested Jeffrey in November for possession of a controlled substance — methamphetamine — and drug paraphernalia, including a pipe. Additionally, he was charged with trying to smuggle drugs into the Naples Jail Center after entering the secured doors, following his arrest. He pleaded not guilty.

The next hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for Feb. 25.

According to court filings in the civil case: While the younger Liebman was in jail, a special magistrate got into the home with a realtor and it was listed for sale on Dec. 12. The younger Liebman allowed showings on Dec. 13 — the day he got out of jail — but then refused to allow access again.

Despite the many obstacles, the property went under contract on Jan. 2, according to Zillow.com, which still shows a pending sale.

In the listing, selling agent Tina Falzarano Bajraktarevic describes the property as "the perfect home for a person who would like to completely renovate the property."

"The remodel was started by the current owner, but has not been completed," the agent states. "The bathrooms, flooring and drywall have been removed in many areas of the residence. If you have the vision, you can turn this house into your dream home."

The sales price is listed as $449,900. The website listing shows a picture of the home with its neutral colors before it was splashed with paint

With the newest paint job — and an unwilling seller — some neighbors are concerned the sale could be in jeopardy.

Family feud

Court records paint the picture of a torn relationship between a father and a son. They include a heated email Jeffrey sent to his father In August, in which he state's there's no reason to put him out on the streets, other than out of spite because he didn't do something his dad wanted him to do.

Jeffrey accused his dad of turning his family against him and ruining a business that he'd worked to grow for 20 years.

"I am so beat down and so scared that I don't even have a voice," he wrote, telling his father that he'd caused more pain in his life "than anything ever could."

In another filing, Jeffrey alleges all the claims his dad has made involving the property are false.

"The house was solely to be my own," Jeffrey wrote in an answer to his dad's lawsuit, adding that the down payment for the home was supposed to be a gift.

Further, Jeffrey stated that the dispute with his father came about after he was hospitalized and couldn't make a house payment. He said his dad made three house payments for him, then wanted him out.

As the situation escalated, Jeffrey alleges his father cut him out of his trust, despite knowing that he'd had a rough year, which included losing a big client.

State records show Jeffrey is still licensed as a certified specialty contractor in Florida, however his business, Wirefree Home Automation, is listed as inactive by the Division of Corporations. His Naples-based business was administratively dissolved in September 2018, after he failed to file an annual report.

In his application for a public defender to represent him in his criminal case, Jeffrey wrote a zero for his take-home pay and $200,000 for his liabilities and debts.

His father Dennis, 70, owns Acpo Ltd., a manufacturer for the label printing and flexible packaging industry based in Ohio. According to his LinkedIn profile, he's owned the company for more than 30 years.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office recently notified the county's Code Enforcement Division about the ongoing problems at the house, including claims that Jeffrey was siphoning water from a neighbor's house through a hose because water had been shut off at his house.

In an emailed statement to the media, the Code Enforcement Division said that while code violations may exist at the home, there are no plans to take any enforcement actions at this time, due to the ongoing litigation involving the property. After speaking with Dennis Liebman's attorney, staff determined that such actions would only delay the court-ordered sale.

Taking action

The Il Regalo Homeowners Association has decided to take action.

The association filed a lawsuit against Jeffrey and Dennis Liebman last week, seeking an injunction to stop them from violating community rules, spelled out in its declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions.

According to community rules, nothing can be done on any lot or in any of the common areas that is "unsightly, offensive, obnoxious or a nuisance," whether its public or private in nature. The association determined the paint job and the commercial vehicle parked in the Liebmans' driveway — and sometimes in a neighboring driveway — were unsightly and obnoxious.

The home backs up to the main road that feeds into the community. It can be seen from the road and the nearby sidewalk — attracting a lot of attention from passersby.

In its suit, the homeowners association warns that a failure to comply with the community's rules and regulations is grounds for immediate action, which may include an effort to recover "sums for damages."

The association offered to resolve the matter through mediation before filing its lawsuit, but the Liebmans didn't agree to it, according to court documents.

Now, the association is looking for a court order that will allow it to force the Liebmans to repair and repaint the house, clean up and replace the torn-up yard and fix the driveway.

Naples attorney Stephen Samouce, who represents the association, said the community's rules are written in plain language, describing them as straightforward and fair.

"It's not unfair," he said. "It's a blatant violation of the association documents. We have information we are acting on similar to a probable-cause type standard, but it's not criminal law."