Lawsuit unearths Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts’ $7M Wilmette mansion fight

The bricks and ivy at Laura Ricketts’ Wilmette home weren’t up to par for the Chicago Cubs co-owner, according to a lawsuit and arbitration fight with a contractor over years of construction and millions of dollars in costs on the property.

Ricketts bought the property in the 400 block of Sheridan Road in Wilmette for $6.5 million under a trust in 2010. Her identity as the homeowner is confirmed by a suit between the contractor on her rebuilding project, LG Construction, and several of its subcontractors that was filed in Cook County court in July.

An arbitration filing between Ricketts and LG Construction submitted as an exhibit within the lawsuit details dozens of concerns Ricketts had with the construction of the home — including masonry and landscaping work — over hundreds of pages of examples and photographs.

Construction on the home began in 2012 and continued until 2016. Ricketts and her family moved into the home in 2015 while work was ongoing.

In Ricketts’ arbitration filing, her attorneys detail over 1,500 individual items on a punch list that they say were never completed. The filing estimates that Ricketts has been damaged by more than $7 million — a figure that would cover but isn’t limited to the cost of repairing or replacing what the filing calls defective work.

That list includes that the filing says is “defective millwork, defective painting and wall finishes, improperly installed doors and windows, defective flooring, improperly installed radiant floor heating, improperly performed electrical work, improperly installed interior and exterior plumbing and drainage, improperly installed roofing and membranes, improperly installed constructed kitchen and three-season porch, defective carpentry, failed and missing flashing, improperly installed stone work, defective tiling, defective HVAC systems, defective pool finishing and tiling and improperly installed skylights.”

Problems were so extensive that Ricketts and her family were worried about health and safety, the arbitration filing said. That included water getting into the home where it damaged ceilings, walls and floors, resulting in mold and water stains.

The filing said the original construction price of the home was more than $6.3 million, but that would eventually become $9.9 million, due to change orders from LG and its subcontractors. That final number did not include the construction materials, which cost $3.5 million, up from an earlier estimate of $1.8 million, and “owner supplied items and services” costing $3.2 million, up from an estimated $338,000, according to the filing.

Between land acquisition and construction as well as materials, Ricketts appeared to spend over $19.5 million on the home.

Neither attorneys for Ricketts nor LG Construction responded to a request for comment.

The arbitration between LG and Ricketts is pending before the American Arbitration Association. Ricketts also filed an arbitration against the project’s architect as well, according to the lawsuit.

The suit notes that LG “continues to deny any and all liability with the construction defect allegations made by the claimant and continues to demand its right to cure any alleged defects.” LG is seeking damages from several subcontractors should the work be proved negligent in arbitration.

Ricketts, who is the daughter of billionaire TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, also recently led a group of investors to purchase the National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Red Stars in a $60 million deal earlier this month.

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