A local landscape designer is suing CNN news anchor Paula Zahn and her husband for failing to pay in full for extensive landscaping at the couple's Greenwich home on Hurlingham Drive, according to documents filed in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Memrie Lewis, of 15 Pecksland Road, alleges that as a designer, she hired other firms to do the work Robert Cohen and Zahn wanted on their home, an agreement laid out in a contract. Lewis said the couple has not paid about $108,000 for services rendered. With interest and compensation, Lewis is seeking close to $200,000.
Her complaint lists seven counts, including breach of written and oral contracts for irrigation, stone work, lighting and plants.
Last week, the lawyer representing Zahn and her husband filed a mo-tion for a protective order arguing that Zahn should not be deposed in court because she has "celebrity status" and is unfamiliar with the landscape work, having delegated it to her husband, according to the file.
"Taking Ms. Zahn's celebrity status into account and combining that status with her complete lack of knowledge of any of the facts relevant to this case, the taking of Ms. Zahn's deposition is clearly designed to harass, annoy, oppress and intimidate and, therefore, the Court should grant this motion for protective order," wrote Nicole Anker, the Hartford-based attorney for the defendants.
Anker did not return a phone call seeking comment yesterday. She has not yet filed her answer to the allegations, which would explain reasons for the couple's non-payment.
Eric Posmantier, Lewis' Greenwich attorney, filed a motion yesterday objecting to Zahn's request for a protective order, arguing that her fame should not prevent her involvement in the deposition.
"The plaintiff respectfully asserts that the Court should be offended at the defendant's argument that her self-proclaimed 'celebrity status' somehow renders her immune from the laws of the state," Posmantier wrote.
Posmantier also asserted that Zahn's claim that she has no knowledge of the facts in the case is "simply a false statement."
Zahn, who is named in the lawsuit as "P. Ann Cohen," made that claim in a sworn affidavit July 16, according to the court file.
Posmantier declined to comment.
In February, Superior Court Judge Kevin Tierney ordered a prejudgment remedy of $132,557 in favor of Lewis. That money is set aside, as a bond or an escrow account would be, until a judgment is ordered in the case.
In May, Lewis offered to settle the case for $100,000. Zahn and Cohen rejected the offer.
Later that month, Zahn and Cohen moved to strike five of the seven counts in the complaint. Their motion was denied.
Zahn, who joined CNN last September, is the host of "American Morning with Paula Zahn," CNN's flagship morning news program. Previously, Zahn was the host of "The Edge with Paula Zahn," a daily news program on Fox News Channel.