Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Disclosure

This is an awful discovery and I am quite disturbed to hear of your situation. In this instance there are three potential persons against whom you could take action to recover what is undoubtedly some significant diminution in value to your property: the seller, your broker and the selling broker.

A seller is not obligated to disclose defects in property he/she is selling unless he/she is asked and answers in a knowingly false manner or in a manner where the answer could have given accurately with some reasonable diligence. Assuming this is a single-family or two-family home, the seller would be legally responsible to you only if the seller was asked whether there were any environmental-related conditions affecting the property and the seller replied "none" and you can prove that he knew otherwise.

The buyer's broker is potentially liable under two theories: malpractice and non-disclosure (Ch. 93A). To prove malpractice, he would have to show that a broker exercising the appropriate standard of care would have learned that this was a Superfund site and correspondingly disclosed that to you. Alternatively, perhaps you could prove that the broker knew about the problem but didn't disclose it to you in his/her zeal to make a sale and a commission.

The seller's broker is potentially liable under a theory of non-disclosure (Ch. 93A). Unlike the seller, brokers must disclose to a buyer all important defects in property which, if disclosed to you, would have influenced your purchase decision.

These cases can be difficult to prove, particularly since you have to demonstrate that the broker either had knowledge of the problem or (in the case of your own broker) could have secured the information quite easily.

Feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss the matter in detail. Please see my web site, www.lawfang.com.

Re: Disclosure

The seller (and seller's broker) were obligated to disclose to you (in advance of the purchase) any material information they knew of (or should have known of) that could reasonably be expected to affect the value, use and/or ownership of the property. Thus, more information is necessary to offer meaningful answers to your questions. However, if the owner/broker was aware of the existence of the superfund site, and could reasonably have anticipated that it could affect the value, use, etc. of the property, clearly it should have been disclosed to you prior to the sale. If you or your broker could have easily discovered the existence of the superfund site through a routine public records search, however, then (arguably) the seller/broker might have a better defense, than if the you would not have discovered it thru a routine records search.

In any case, if a factual investigation reveals the seller/broker failed to disclose this info to you in breach of an obligation to do so -- and/or your own broker unreasonably failed to discover it -- you may well have claims against (some or all of) them.

Feel free to contact me directly for a free initial office consultation to discuss this problem further. I have experience bringing claims like these on behalf of surprised real estate buyers. The brokers probably have insurance.

Re: Disclosure

Both attorneys who previously answered your question have accurately described the law. I would like to point out there is some case law that requires a Seller to disclose facts known to him that he would reasonably believe would lead a buyer not to buy the home or of a material nature. In this case the failure to disclose the contamination would be material.

To support your claim, you should find out if the US Air Force has sent similar letters previously to your address. If so, that would make the Seller at significant risk. Likewise, check with the town and the local papers to see what prior knowledge the Brokers should have had in selling the home.

Depending on the supporting information you can obtain you could have a very good case.

Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.

Re: Disclosure

Reatain an attorney. You may have a case against all who withhed this knowledge. Good Luck!