Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York

Re: Full Disclosure??

Yes, you may sue the seller for breach of contract and obtain damages for the cost of the clean up from the flooding. In order to prevail, you will need to establish that the house flooded while the sellers lived there. This could possibly be established through "discovery" in the court case.

Also: It sure sounds suspicious that the seller checked "don't know" as to whether his own house flooded -- something you should have probably challenged him on prior to closing on the sale.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman; www.AshmanLawOffices.com; [email protected]

The information provided by Ashman Law Offices, LLC (�ALO�) is for general educational purposes only. No attorney-client relationship is established by this communication and no privilege attaches to such communication. ALO is not taking and will not take any action on your behalf and will not be considered your attorney until both you and ALO have signed a written retention agreement. There are strict deadlines, called statutes of limitation, within which claims or lawsuits must be filed. Therefore, if you desire the services of an attorney and decide not to retain ALO on terms acceptable to ALO, you should immediately seek the services of another attorney.

Re: Full Disclosure??

Mr. Ashman is wrong. The law for the Property Disclosure Statement "provides no such specific right of action to the purchaser for a breach of the Disclosure form." Malach v. Chuang, 754 N.Y.S.2d 835 (2002).

However, if you are able to demonstrate actual knowledge of the condition (meaning that the Sellers actually saw and knew about a flooded basement) instead of constructive knowledge of the condition (Sellers never saw a flood, just water stains), you may be able to recover based on a fraudulent misrepresentation claim.

Mike.

Re: Full Disclosure??

You may have a case for fraudulent misrepresentation, if you can establish the Seller had actual knowledge of a flooding condition. If the neighbors are correct that complaints were filed with the City, you could try to get copies of their complaints. Did your title search indicate the property was in a flood zone? If so, were any insurance claims filed during their period of ownership? You do not indicate how long the Seller owned the property. If they owned it for years, they should have known of this condition. This is a discovery matter as part of a lawsuit. I suggest using a knowledgable real estate/contract attorney to assist you. If your damages were not great, the cost of suit might be more than your recovery, unless you are looking to get out of the purchase.