After writing about the “haunted house” case recently, I came across another case that addressed the same concepts, and also in an unusual setting. The haunted house court had decided that because the buyer could not have anticipated that the house under contract was haunted, and was therefore not expected to inspect the property for ghosts, and because the sellers had knowledge of the haunting, the buyer could cancel the purchase contract.
This case, Jablonski v Rapalje, involves sellers that may have hid from a buyer the fact that the house in question was bat infested. While some of the facts should have lead the buyer to pay more attention and realize that something was amiss (discussed below), the particulars of what the buyer should have questioned and investigated divided the court. The majority decided that the sellers may have concealed the bats from the buyer, so that the buyer was allowed to cancel the sales contract.
A fair reading of these cases highlight courts trying to find a way to grant recision. To do so, the courts had to first find the sellers’ concealment. This case focused on whether the sellers actively concealed the bat infestation, while the haunted house court focused on whether the buyer had an obligation to search for ghosts once the seller publicized the haunting but did not inform the buyer. Each court then turned to a detailed explanation of why the buyers were not obligated to inspect for that concealed issue, so that the contracts could be rescinded.
The outcome in this case triggered a strong dissent, addressing the alleged concealment by the seller, and whether or not the buyer should have, with reasonable effort and investigation, discovered the bat problem that the majority found to have been concealed by the seller.
Although in the minority, the dissent’s objections seem to make sense. The dissent argued that the buyer knew or should have known that something was amiss yet failed to investigate. The buyer had ample opportunity to inspect, was aware that the exterior of the property was stained, that the attic smelled strongly of urine and moth balls, and saw electric extension cords (presumably for lighting) running to the attic (which may have been used to force the bats to leave temporarily). The buyer even knew of the removal of “bird feces” (later determined to have been bat guano), all of which should have been sufficient to raise suspicions and cause the buyer to investigate further. Instead, the buyer took the word of the seller that nothing was amiss and left it at that. Given these facts, held the dissent, the buyer had no claim against the seller.
Ghosts and bats aside, don’t be fooled. Claims that a seller hid some defect from a prospective buyer are often rejected by the courts. The concept of “buyer beware” is alive and well in New York State. Before one buys a property of any kind, a careful physical inspection and review of title cannot be ignored. Any defect or objection will not be sustained if that defect or objection was in any way known to the public or with reasonable diligence able to have been discovered by a prospective buyer.
Because the facts often dictate the outcome, investigating who knew what and when is critical. The Firm has been involved in concealment cases in New York City and can discuss any issues relevant to your situation.