A MAN has been sued by his neighbors over the vibrant coloring used to paint his $500,000 house.
Even the friends of Naples, Florida, resident Jeffrey Liebman, 44, were shocked to see what he had done to his half-a-million-dollar home in January 2020.
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Liebman had splatter-painted the entirety of the structure, located in the Il Regalo Circle development, with several bright paint colors — including yellow, red, purple, orange, blue, and pink, per the Daily Mail.
Virtually nothing was left untouched in Liebman's repainting, including the palm tree that stood out in the front of his yard, the yard itself, and a white van parked in the driveway.
The van also had the phrase "Who is Omar?" written on its side.
The Naples resident's mailbox was also doused in pink, orange, and blue paint.
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Alan Klawans, a friend of Liebman's, noted that the surprising paint job was uncharacteristic of the homeowner's typical behavior.
"I can't believe it. I absolutely can't believe someone would do something like this," Klawans told Fort Myers-based NBC affiliate WBBH-TV.
"I haven't seen the inside yet!'
The friend continued: "Obviously he has a drug issue or something going on. I've just never seen anything like this in my life."
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"The guy wanted to take something out on the home instead of getting help. I don't get it. I don't get it at all why someone would go to this extreme."
Liebman was arrested on drug charges and no longer lived in the home when neighbors became enraged with the multi-colored property.
In November 2019, the Florida man was arrested by Collier County sheriff's deputies for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, per Naples News.
Liebman had methamphetamine and a pipe, police said.
He was also reportedly charged with an attempt to smuggle drugs into the Naples Jail center following his arrest and later entered a not-guilty plea for the charges.
The homeowner was later released, and on January 22, 2020, a wellness check was made at the home in Il Regalo Cirlce by police after receiving calls about Liebman's behavior and work on his yard from midnight to the early morning, according to an incident report.
Liebman allegedly told the officer who visited the home that he was "sad, lonely, and hurt."
The officer then took Liebman under protective custody due to what was deemed as "drug-involved" circumstances and declared that he was "unable to take care of himself."
Jeffrey Liebman was then taken to the David Lawrence Center and later released after care and treatment.
FATHER-SON BATTLE
Although more problems came for the homeowner as a legal battle ensued between him and his father, Dennis Liebman.
Dennis had helped his son and co-signed for the mortgage on the multi-colored home and contributed to its down payment, per court documents obtained by Daily News.
The official documents note that Jeffrey missed at least three payments in 2019 for the home, and Dennis subsequently sued for a sale of the property to force his son out.
Dennis claimed that his son violated the terms of the original agreement with the missed payments.
Jeffrey's spray-painting of the house and ripping out of appliances, cabinets, and flooring on the inside was allegedly done in response to his father's lawsuit, court documents say, per local Fox affiliate KOKI.
During a court hearing in March, Jeffrey entered a plea of no contest to contempt charges brought against him by his father in coloring the property, which he claimed interfered with the sale of the home, Naples News reported.
The judge issued a 60-day prison sentence for Jeffrey.
NEW SALE
In April 2020, the multi-colored and half-destroyed home sold instead of being torn down.
It was cleaned and given a new paint job while the new owner closed on the property for a price of $225,000, according to Collier County records.
Before the painting incident, the 2019 value of the Naples home was $528,623.
The anonymous new owner got a discount after Collier County Circuit Court Judge Lauren Brodie ordered in February 2020 that the home would be sold for the value of the lot it sat upon, per Boston-based Fox affiliate WFXT.
Mark Weber, broker of White Sands Realty, said that the new owner was happy about the purchase.
"After all the chaos surrounding the sale, there is a silver lining for the buyer and community homeowners, who have had to put up with all the drama," he told Naples News at the time.
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"The sale is closed and repainting the entire house to remove the damage is underway as we speak."
The multi-colored house was reportedly repainted to appear the same as other homes in the neighborhood.
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