Long Island Couple Claim In Lawsuit Homeowners Copied Their Dream Home

CEDARHURST, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island couple are suing homeowners after claiming they copied their dream home.

CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported Rivka and Seth Fortgang have filed a lawsuit against another Five Towns couple, claiming that they entered the building department without permission, ripped off exclusive architectural plans and are constructing a carbon-copy mansion a mile away in Cedarhurst.

According to the lawsuit, Rivka Fortgang said her business and reputation as a designer in her upscale community of Lawrence has suffered irreparable harm as a result of the copying of her façade.

Fortgang's home is listed at $1.5 million. There is no dollar figure named in the lawsuit.

"I would be flattered if someone wanted to copy my home, I wouldn't care," Lawrence neighbor Helen Hersh said.

The lawyers for the owners of the so-called knock-off home on Villa Place in Cedarhurst argued the design features are not unique to be covered under the Copyright Act. The lawyers said the new mansion will have windows, not gables, and entryway doors, and reiterated it is located an entire village away.

"I would just say get over it and come to some sort of mutual agreement," Cedarhurst resident David Betron said.

The owners of the accused copycat mansion have agreed to temporarily halt construction, pending design changes to their home.

It is alleged that the couple from Cedarhurt first spotted the Lawrence mansion while visiting family who live down the block from the Fortgangs.