Cranberry couple accused of perjury related to sale of Westmoreland home with water issues

A Cranberry couple is accused of lying under oath when they said they weren’t aware of water damage to their former Westmoreland County home they sold in September 2020.

Westmoreland County detectives have charged Michael James Pierce, 57, and Carrie Ann Pierce, 54, with perjury in the case.

The Pierces are accused of lying during a June 24 deposition in Greensburg related to a civil suit filed against the couple by the purchasers of the Hempfield home. The deposition took place at the firm of attorney Timothy Leonard, who is representing Allan Brown and Eileen Gardenhire in their suit against the Pierces after the $765,000 home sale.

According to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Ray Dupilka, Leonard told investigators the Pierces were aware of issues with the home but provided false answers on a seller’s disclosure statement, “denying water leakage, accumulation, dampness or structural problems.”

Dupilka said Leonard provided documents signed by Michael Pierce that authorized a waterproofing contractor to install a subfloor drainage system in March 2019 in the home’s basement and a letter in which Pierce subsequently complained about the company’s work, noting the basement “continuously gets flooded” with resulting damage.

Dupilka said other documents show the Pierces filed an insurance claim July 9, 2019, for structural damage to the home, but the claim was denied. Dupilka said an inspection report concluded damage to the home was a result of long-term “creep deformation” of the framing related to high levels of stress caused by inadequate construction.

Referring to transcripts from the June deposition, Dupilka said Michael Pierce was confronted with the mentioned documentation but denied using the contractor to address water infiltration and denied filing an insurance claim for structural damage.

Dupilka said Carrie Pierce, in her deposition, denied knowledge of the insurance claim and stood by the information on the seller’s disclosure statement.

Attorney Benjamin J. Steinberg, who is defending the Pierces in both the civil and criminal cases, said the criminal charges represent “an ill-advised tactic to obtain an upper hand” in the civil suit by the plaintiffs and their attorney.

Steinberg said the Pierces “intend to zealously defend themselves against these charges, which are completely baseless, a weaponization of the criminal courts and best suited to remain in civil court.”

The Pierces were arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Chris Flanigan in Greensburg and released on their own recognizance.

A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 23 before Flanigan.

In the civil suit, Brown and Gardenhire accuse the Pierces of fraudulent misrepresentation and violation of Pennsylvania’s sellers disclosure law and unfair trade practice and consumer protection law.

As a result, the plaintiffs say the value of their property has been reduced and they’ve incurred substantial costs to repair and remediate water issues.

They said, during periods of rain, large portions of the basement and a garage stairwell became flooded, forcing them to remove vinyl flooring and carpeting in finished sections of the basement.

They are seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

In a response to the civil suit, the Pierces’ attorneys asked that it be dismissed, denying that the Pierces made misrepresentations regarding the property and stating that the couple did not know of water leakage and accumulation in the basement.