Nassau business owner sues Home Depot for $5 million, alleging retailer diverted potential sales, hurting profits

The owner of a Nassau County window coverings company has sued The Home Depot for allegedly diverting customers, causing him to lose business opportunities and profits. 

Darren Zuckerman, owner of Plainview-based Custom Coverings Corp., alleges in a complaint filed in Nassau County Supreme Court last week that The Home Depot unlawfully interfered with a contract he'd forged with a Nevada shutter company granting him exclusive rights to sell their products on Long Island. The suit — which is also filed against the shutter manufacturer and its parent companies for allegedly interfering with a sale of shares in his company — seeks damages exceeding $5 million.

Zuckerman negotiated a contract with Sunburst Shutters in January 2023 that allowed him sole rights to sell their products on Long Island and much of New York, the suit states. Zuckerman's contract included rights "to receive customer leads from multiple national retail partners of Sunburst ... including all The Home Depot, Inc. stores within its territory — providing CCC exclusive control over critical market channels," according to the suit. 

But The Home Depot, which displayed Sunburst product samples at its stores, then directed customers to other local businesses despite being aware of Custom Coverings' contract, according to the lawsuit. 

This directly caused Zuckerman to lose profits, business opportunities, and devalued his territorial rights to 15 New York counties outlined in his contract with Sunburst, among other things, the suit says.

"Business was slowing down. I started looking into things and realized another division was opened in my territory. It forced me to realize that I was dealing with a big company and they were taking advantage of me," Zuckerman told Newsday.

The suit alleges The Home Depot committed tortious interference, a legal claim put forward when someone intentionally causes a breach in contract between two other parties without being part of the agreement themselves, causing damages to the plaintiff. 

To win the case, Zuckerman will need to provide proof, said Anthony Sabino, an attorney and professor in the Department of Law at St. John's University's College of Business.

"To prove tortious interference of contract in New York is a rigorous, multi component test ... and that is an uphill battle," he said, adding that commercial lawsuits often settle before going to trial.

Zuckerman's suit also names as defendants Sunburst Shutters Nevada Inc., and its parent companies — Wisconsin-based manufacturer Springs Window Fashions LLC and California-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group L.P. 

The complaint alleges Clearlake Capital Group and its two subsidiaries interfered with the sale of Custom Coverings stocks by suing Custom Coverings in early February for missing sales targets, causing the transaction to fall through. 

At the time, Zuckerman was negotiating the sale of 50% of stocks in his business with a Farmingdale flooring and windows installation company. The suit filed by Sunburst in Nevada federal court on Feb. 6 came after he'd notified the three companies of the pending transaction in a show of "good faith," said attorney Jesse Cotter, of Cotter Law Group in Manhasset, which is representing Custom Coverings.

The contract did not require prior consent from the companies for the sale, Cotter said.

Sunburst's Nevada suit is seeking $75,000 from Custom Coverings Corp. and termination of its license agreement because the Long Island company allegedly performed "substantially worse" than "other licensees in similarly situated territories" in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Sunburst also alleges the business did not follow up on customer leads from The Home Depot and Lowe’s stores.

Custom Coverings has not yet responded to the case in court, but Cotter said his client’s conversion rates were "pretty standard."

"There’s competition. You can buy window coverings on Amazon now," he said.

A spokesman for The Home Depot declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. 

Representatives for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.