BILLINGS — A Billings woman has sued a landscaping contractor after he took her money and failed to complete the work, leaving her out thousands of dollars and waiting for justice more than a year later.
Valerie McMurtry's frustrations began in November 2024 when she hired Premier Landscaping and Tree Service for yard work.
Watch Valerie McMurtry tell her story:
"I decided since it was November to wait till springtime, and he said, 'You know, to guarantee the prices.' He said, 'I will need a down payment,'" McMurtry said Wednesday.
After making the down payment, McMurtry said the contractor, Devyn Swanson, kept making excuses through a series of text messages that lasted until the end of May 2024.
"I'll get it done by, in April, I'll get it done before Mother's Day. I'll get it done. And finally, the end of May, I said, 'I want it done by June 12, or a refund of my deposit,'" McMurtry said.
When June 12 came and went without the work being completed, McMurtry said Swanson made one final promise.
"He actually texted me and he said, 'I will get it done. I will get it done before five o'clock today.' And that didn't happen," McMurtry said.
Fed up with the delays, McMurtry decided to go a different route.
"I started the small claims process in August. He did not respond to the demand letter, registered mail. Did not pick it up," McMurtry said.
Determined to serve Swanson with legal papers, McMurtry hired a private investigator, who made 10 attempts to locate him. The investigator eventually found Swanson, but when McMurtry's court date arrived Jan. 12, she faced another disappointment.
"At one o'clock I was at court, and Devyn didn't show up," McMurtry said.
Eric Peterson with AVA Law Group explained that small claims court has limitations when defendants don't appear.
"People represent themselves in small claims," Peterson said.
Even though McMurtry showed up to court and Swanson didn't, she walked away empty-handed. Peterson outlined some potential next steps for collecting judgments.
"You can record that judgment against real property that the individual may have and then you have a lien against that property if it's ever sold. They'd have to satisfy your lien," Peterson said. "You can also pursue through a debt collection agency."
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MTN attempted to contact Swanson, the owner of Premier Landscaping, but he never returned the call. MTN also tried knocking on the door of his home, but no one answered. One neighbor said he hasn't seen Swanson for a while.
The financial pain has been significant for McMurtry, a retired educator.
"I don't know what makes somebody think they can just walk away. I mean, it's not like it was $50 that I'd go, 'Oh, well, bad, you know, poor me.' That's, no, this was, I'm a retired educator and this was $2,000 and now $2,300 that I've put out with fees and court fees and all this other expenses that go along with this," McMurtry said.
While McMurtry acknowledges she should have done more research before hiring the contractor, she hopes sharing her story will help others avoid similar situations.
"In doing all this, yes, I hoped I would get my money back and I still hope I get it back, but I also think it's important to get word out," McMurtry said.
