Lawsuit involving sale of Constantine House settled

Jul. 28—The lawsuit involving a historic home in Aiken that sold for a seven-figure amount has been settled.

"Both parties are pleased to announce the dispute between Mr. Cody Anderson and Dr. and Mrs. Richard Amendola regarding the Constantine House has been resolved amicably and privately," wrote Aiken attorney John Harte in an email sent to the Aiken Standard at noon Wednesday.

Harte, Anderson's lawyer, later declined to be interviewed, citing the settlement's terms as the reason.

Anderson, who is the owner of George Funeral Home and Cremation Center, also wouldn't discuss the matter.

"Unfortunately, I can't because of the terms of the agreement," he said.

Andrew R. Hand, John M.S. Hoefer and Mitchell Willoughby of the Willoughby & Hoefer law firm in Columbia represented Richard and Carol Amendola in the legal action.

The Aiken Standard contacted Willoughby & Hoefer on Wednesday and left a voicemail requesting a comment about the settlement.

No response was received prior to the publication deadline for this story.

The Amendolas filed their lawsuit against Anderson on March 17 in in the Court of Common Pleas for South Carolina's 2nd Judicial Circuit.

The couple claimed Anderson had defaulted on a loan after buying the Constantine House from them in August 2020.

The purchase price was $1 million according to Aiken County land records.

The Constantine House's address is 3406 Richland Avenue West.

Included in the deal was a parcel of land at 3401 Kings Sport Way.

Harte told the Aiken Standard in March that Anderson made a $50,000 down payment when he acquired the Constantine House.

According to the Amendolas' suit, Anderson also promised to pay the couple $950,000 "plus interest" at the rate of 4.5% per year "during the period of indebtedness."

Under the agreement, the suit stated, there would be 77 monthly installment payments of $4,814, "with a final payment of all remaining principal and accrued interest due on April 15, 2027."

Also part of the deal was a "single principal reduction" payment of $600,000, according to the suit.

It would be due when properties owned by Anderson at 116 Charles Towne Place in Woodside Plantation and Donald K. Gordon at 56 Cherry Hills Drive in the Houndslake subdivision were sold, the suit stated.

Based on the agreement, if those properties weren't sold before Aug. 31, 2021, the $600,000 would be due then.

Gordon died in December.

According to the Amendolas' suit, even though Anderson's property was sold in January of this year and Gordon's property was sold in November 2020, Anderson had not paid them $600,000 yet.

The suit stated that as of March 15, the total amount due, including accrued interest, was $939,453.98.

The Amendolas were seeking that amount and more, which included expenses, "prejudgment" interest based on the "statutory rate" of 8.75%, attorneys' fees and other costs.

Harte told the Aiken Standard in March that his client had not failed to repay the debt.

"The situation, as we see it, is that the property that Cody Anderson bought had numerous major defects which, first of all, were not disclosed during the negotiations," Harte said. "Secondly, there were conditions that were misrepresented. We attempted to reach out to the sellers and open a line of communication to try to negotiate. Instead of responding as I expected them to do, which would be to open a discussion outside of court to try to resolve the problem, they filed this foreclosure action, which is without merit.

"He (Anderson) is not in default," Harte continued, "and we will establish that if we have to go to court. Hopefully, we won't have to go to court, and we'll get it resolved without that."

Anderson "has made the payments as required," Harte also said. "He has done what he agreed to do. There was an agreement for him to refinance and get a mortgage to cover the entire balance rather than paying it out over time to them (the Amendolas). They are ignoring that agreement and ignoring the payments that he has made. It is very unfortunate they've chosen that path, but so be it."

Anderson's response to the Amendolas' lawsuit stated that he "gave notice of his intent to accelerate the entire amount due by obtaining a mortgage from a bank or lending institution rather than making the $600,000 payment" prior to Aug. 31, 2021.

In an interview with the Aiken Standard in March, Hand said that he and the Amendolas' other attorneys wouldn't be commenting on the "pending litigation."

Greek architect Augustus Edison Constantine designed the Constantine House, which was built in the 1930s.

The Amendolas lived in the 4,936-square-foot classic Georgian home for nearly 20 years.

Anderson told the Aiken Standard last year that he planned to leave the Constantine House to USC Aiken following his death so it could be used as a residence for the school's chancellor.