Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Hi,

We have some serious non-disclosure and other issues around the new home we bought last year. The major ones are 1) Clear encroachment by neighbour on property that we discovered after moving in 2) Litigation between neighbours on easement that we have parking rights on that was not disclosed to us 3) 4 bedroom house listed and sold to us as a 5 bedroom house (one of the "bedrooms" does not have a closet) 4) Huge difference between advertised lot size and the actual usable lot size (about 29,000 sq ft difference) with no clear mention in disclosure of details of why this area is not counted in usable lot. 5) Faultily designed bathroom shower that threatens the structural integrity of the house due to water leakage.

Questions: 1) We believe we have a strong case against the seller, the broker and the title company. What is your opinion on how strong our case is? How do you suggest we proceed in this case (there is a mediation clause in the purchase agreement)? What is the likely value of the case if we seek to sue the title company and seller - can we seek punitive damages in addition to the concrete damages for the monetary loss on each item? 2) We're planning to meet the title company manager to discuss our issue. This is our first visit. Is it necessary to have legal representation when meeting him Or to take legal consulation before meeting him?

Thanks in advance.


Asked on 9/16/09, 3:24 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Did you not look at the house before you closed escrow? If you did, you have a tough case on the closet count. Did you not get a home inspection to discover the water leak?

You will not get very far with the title company. Encroachments you will find are excluded from your title policy as will be lot size issues. Anything that would have been disclosed by a survey will be excluded. If they did not disclose the easement litigation, you may have a claim, but they will just defend your interest in the easement. There is no wrongdoing in not disclosing something in the title report that the title company intends to accept the risk of and defend. If they lose, they will pay you the difference between what you paid for the property and the value of the property with the loss of whatever rights are being litigated. Last time I had one of those cases and we lost, the lost value was $6,000 and the title company paid right after the judgment was entered. They have nothing to do with and no responsibility for the bedroom count or the bathroom condition.

You only have a claim against the seller and broker if they failed to disclose something they were obligated under the law to disclose. You will have to prove they knew about each of the items you take issue with and that you could not have discovered them by reasonable inspection. (Sorry, you missed that a room didn't have any closets?).

Unless there are a lot of facts that you have left out, you have some minor claims for some very modest dollar amounts.

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Answered on 9/16/09, 3:50 am
OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES

I would be happy to review the evidence in order to opine regarding its strength. Initially its looks very strong and I would name the sellers, broker, and agent as defendants. Contact me directly.

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Answered on 9/16/09, 2:10 pm


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