Cubs president Theo Epstein sued after dog allegedly damaged rental home with excessive peeing
A couple who rented their Arizona home to Theo Epstein during spring training in 2015 has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs president, alleging his dog’s excessive urination damaged their home, according to the Phoenix New TImes.
John and Mary Valentino rented out their Paradise Valley, Arizona, home to Epstein in February and March 2015, when the Cubs were at spring training. Epstein, his wife, two children and 10-pound dog, Winston, stayed at the home.
According to the report, Winston “peed prolifically” in the home, staining the floors, wood door jams, cabinets and furniture while leaving a terrible odor. The Epsteins also allegedly left holes in the drywall, broke cabinet handles, tore a shower curtain and grill cover and more.
Epstein and his family moved out of the home early, per the report, due to a scorpion infestation on the property he claimed the landlords failed to address.
The Valentinos did not refund Epstein’s $5,000 deposit, and reportedly sent Epstein a repair estimate of $51,405 in 2017. They claim they have been unable to rent the property since, and that urine “penetrated through the carpeting and pad to the slab.”
“The Valentinos attempted to re-mediate the premises through major cleaning, power washing the patio and walls, having the carpet cleaned and treated, having the tile cleaned and treated, fumigating the premises and replacing the air cleaners and touching the paint,” the lawsuit said, via the New Times.
Epstein denied the allegations through Julian Green, the Cubs’ vice president of communications, who called the lawsuit “baseless.” Epstein claims his family found the urine stains after moving into the home.
“This frivolous lawsuit would have you believe a 10-pound rescue puppy transformed into a nightmarish Levitan from the 1984 Alice Cooper horror movie and went on a rampage in the rental property,” Green said, via the New Times. “The truth is the real horror story was the house and inhabited creatures that put this family at risk every time they put their children to sleep.”
Whether the allegations are true, Epstein has publicly admitted to having trouble with his dog peeing in the house before.
“Um, I can’t even get my dog to stop peeing in the house,” Epstein told ESPN’s Buster Olney in 2016.
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