Feyre-Febonio v. Thelen

No good deed goes unpunished. Victoria Febonio (“Febonio”) moved to the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts with her child in 2002 and tried to buy a home. To do so, she needed a real estate appraisal; and, the mother of her child’s playmate, Helen Thelen (“Thelen”), was an appraiser who needed some painting to be done in her own home. The women agreed to swap services, and their business relationship grew when Thelen wanted to remodel a bathroom in her basement. Febonio undertook the project in bits and pieces to accommodate Thelen’s cash flow. Febonio believed the project was complete, and she…