Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I bought a home in January 2010 in California. Every other month we had sewer backups. About a month ago we found out that the sewer line is bad and needs to be replaced. We also found out that the same plumbing company had visited our home in January 2010 when the previous owner owned it and they advised on the receipt that the line is bad. Unfortunately, the name on the receipt is possibly the tenant that was living there and not the owners. The service was paid over the phone and not by the tenant. I can not locate the person that lived there at the time to confirm that the owner knew about it. Can I sue the previous owner for not disclosing the bad sewer line in the disclosure statements? There was a home inspection done and this was not detected, but unfortunatly it wasn't detectable for that type of inspection. I was told only a sewer line inspection would have informed us of that.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, you can sue. The tenant would normally not pay for a sewer backup so it would be assumed the landlord had notice. You could through dilscovery find out if the owner paid for the sewer service.
You are asking all of the right questions. If you can prove that the prior owner knew about the damaged sewer line, and did not disclose it, you would have a good lawsuit. The problem, as you are learning, and as Mr. Shers pointed out, is that right now you do not have any firm evidence that the prior owner knew of the bad sewer line, and may only be able to confirm this in discovery. You should also be aware that you may be subject to arbitration or mediation if you signed a standard CAR form for the purchase and sale contract. This may hurt you, as discovery is generally limited by the rules of the arbitration forum selected in the contract clause.
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