Can I sue a seller for intentionally covering up a burn on the countertop in the kitchen and not disclosing it?
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Can I sue a seller for intentionally covering up a burn on the countertop in the kitchen and not disclosing it?
We recently purchased a home and while I was cleaning the kitchen I moved a cutting board I though the seller had forgotten only to find a deep burn in the counter top. It is burned beyond repair. If I would have know this was there we would have defiantly re-negotiated the price. Can we sue for this?
Asked on August 6, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
Terence Fenelon / Law Offices of Terence Fenelon
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
First of all, I would mention the old Latin term of " caveat emptor"' which means, buyer, beware!
Why didn't you move the cutting board while inspecting the premisses? Was it attached? In most real estate transactions, the buyer takes the property subject only to exceptions specifically stated in the sale contract.
If the seller actively covered up the defect in a manor in which it not easily determined, the defect, discovered later, might be actionable. Depending upon the money involved (damages), you could file a small claims suit in the court under a fraud or misreprentation theory. But, remember the first line of this response. If I were representing the seller, I would raise it as a defense.
Good luck
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