I want to know how to proceed against a seller who lied in the property disclosure statement.
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I want to know how to proceed against a seller who lied in the property disclosure statement.
Purchased house in 2007. The previous sellers added an addition on to the back of the house about a year before they sold it, We did have an inspection but it was so new nothing but some electrical problems came up, which we had fixed. In the property disclosure the marked no to was anything on the property built without a permit and to, was anything built without following codes. We are now have leaking issues and wood rotting issues, so I wanted to pull the permit to see who built it. There was no permit issued for the addition. The seller is about 4 hours away in KY, will that be a problem?
Asked on June 23, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Tennessee
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You could sue the seller for fraud. Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity with the intent to induce reliance on which buyer justifiably relies to his/her detriment.
Seller's false statement/nondisclosure was made with knowledge of its falsity and the intent to induce buyer's reliance on which buyer justifiably relied by purchasing the property. Buyer could not have reasonably discovered seller's false statement/nondisclosure.
Your damages (the amount of monetary compensation you are seeking in a lawsuit for fraud) would be either the benefit of the bargain or your out-of-pocket-loss. Benefit of the bargain means the defrauded purchaser can recover the difference between the real and represented value of the property that was purchased regardless of the fact that the actual loss suffered might have been less. Out-of-pocket-loss in damages for fraudulent misrepresentations permits recovery of the difference between the price paid and the actual value of the property acquired.
A lawsuit can be filed where the plaintiff resides or where the defendant resides or where the claim arose. You could file your lawsuit in either TN or KY. It would be more convenient for you to file in TN where you live for purposes of filing documents with the court and for court appearances. Since four years have elapsed since you purchased the property, it would be advisable to consider the applicable statute of limitations for fraud in both TN and KY in deciding which state to file the lawsuit. If the statute of limitations has expired in one state, perhaps it has not expired in the other. You will need to file your lawsuit prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
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