Like so many members of the extended Duggar clan, Austin Forsyth is in the real estate biz.
He may be young, but Joy-Anna Duggar’s husband already has several years’ experience buying and selling homes.
In fact, before Jim Bob would grant him permission to propose to Joy-Anna, Austin had to turn a profit from flipping a house, in order to prove that he would be able to provide for her.
So we imagine Jim Bob is less than thrilled by the news that Austin’s career as a developer might have been cut short by a scandalous lawsuit.
Yes, a Reddit user who goes by the handle u/tallerthanagiraffe did some digging and discovered that Austin is being sued for fraud.
The plaintiff in the case claims that he bought a house from Austin and the reality star’s negligent repairs resulted in $20,000 in damages.
“Our pal Austin is being sued for fraud related to house flipping adventures,” u/tallerthanagiraffe wrote.
“Filed [on] October 19. Joy is not named as a defendant. His brother-in-law, Bobby Ballinger, is his attorney.”
Heading off any Duggar defenders before they had a chance to doubt his claim, the amateur sleuth posted screenshots of the docket report from Austin’s case (below).
“Long story short is that Austin installed a septic system that shouldn’t have been installed and he never obtained permits or had inspections and now they are trying to undo their purchase or have Austin pay damages (excess of $20,000),” the Giraffe wrote.
“I am pretty sure this is the house that him and Joy first lived in (the disclosures filed with the lawsuit said that he was living in the house),” the user continued.
“The original suit was filed October 19th; Austin filed his response in mid November,” Giraffe added.
“This will probably get to trial sometime in the New Year.”
The news couldn’t come at a worse time for the Duggar clan.
As you may recall, last week, authorities from the Department of Homeland Security raided Josh Duggar’s business.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the investigation will be, but multiple reports of sketchy business practices in such quick succession cannot be good for the Duggars’ reputation,
Thus far, Austin has remained mum on the matter, and that will likely remain the case at least until his trial is through.
Of course, there might be more than monetary damages at stake here.
Austin is one of the only Duggar sons-in-law who’s tolerated by Jim Bob, and even if he wins his case, that may soon change.
If the opposing attorneys are able to expose shoddy business practices, Austin may wind up with a spot on Jim Bob’s sh-t list alongside all the other men who married into the Duggar clan.