Do I have legal recourse for agent misrepresentation in purchase?
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Do I have legal recourse for agent misrepresentation in purchase?
In escrow for mobile home in Ventura senior park. Agent told me floors were
engineered wood. They are not. Also told me appliances were included.
They are not. He kept making mistakes on offering paper via docu-sign and
finally told me on the phone to just sign paperwork and he would fix any
mistakes later. He didn’t. Broker is now involved and told me my best
recourse might be to just pull out. I don’t want to. I want them to make it
right. What recourse do I have?
Asked on August 5, 2017 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
It depends upon whether, before you signed the agreement, you had reason to know that the statements were wrong. (E.g., you had seen the floors and knew they were not engineered wood; or you had had discussions with the seller in which they told you, or you were otherwise made aware, that the appliances were not included.) If you knew the statements were incorrect or inaccurate, you could not reasonably rely on them; therefore, in choosing to sign the agreement with knowledge it was incorrect, you bound yourself to it and have no recourse.
If you did not have a reason to know the agreement was wrong, this may then have been fraud: the intentional making of material (important) mistatements of fact upon which you *reasonably* relied. In that case, you could use the fraud to do what the broker suggests (pull out); you could also potentially sue for monetary compensation--such as the cost for the appliances or to redo the floors.
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