O'Fallon homeowner sues for mold

Remember write har talk soft and Miss nothing .
Any one can be sued make sure you cover your A$$.
… Cookie

O’Fallon homeowner sues seller and home inspector

12/13/2007 12:49 PM
By Ann Knef

Delores McClain filed suit against the seller and inspector of a home she purchased last year in O’Fallon claiming defects were concealed.

According to a suit filed Dec. 11 in St. Clair County Circuit Court, McClain claims she would not have purchased the property at 414 West Third St. in O’Fallon if she had known that water leakage and siding damage existed and would not be corrected.

Represented by Stephen R. Clark of Courtney, Clark & Associates in Belleville, McClain is seeking in excess of $300,000 in damages from Sintzel Investments, Inc. and Accurate Home Inspections LLC.

She claims Sintzel had a duty not to misrepresent the condition of the property when she entered into a contract Nov. 29, 2006.

“That defendant violated this duty by fraudulently and intentionally misrepresenting the condition of the residence by actively concealing water damage or water leakage that it knew to be present in the residence and failed to advise plaintiff of the existence of water damage or water leakage in the residence and plaintiff relied upon these misrepresentations when she purchased the residence,” the complaint states.

McClain claims that mold grew in the basement due to water leakage and that it has caused her to become sick and suffer pain.

According to the suit, Accurate Home Inspections performed a home inspection on Dec. 12, 2006, but allegedly did not disclose that there was water damage.

Wasn’t me but the company name is awfull close! :frowning:

Derosa v. Horning, 2001 BCSC 1670 (CanLII) — 2001-11-30 British Columbia — Supreme Court of British Columbia
mould — basement — moisture — liquid containing feces — property

http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=Derosa+v.+Horning+et+al&language=en&searchTitle=Search+all+CanLII+Databases&path=/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2001/2001bcsc1670/2001bcsc1670.html

Good one Raymond The home Inspector won the case but time expense and agrivation it is not fair for him…
E&O insurance would have settled the case and raised the Home Inspectors insurance as he had a claim.

… Cookie

Here is one I did in O’Fallon in June 07. For this region it is a high market area. This house had 3 offers on it. My clients didn’t buy after inspection.
There were other issues including undersized service entry cables, damp attic, missing roof flashing. The owners disclosed none of it and would not work with the buyers at all. The pics are the crawl space that the termite guy inspected in 10 min.

Thanks Christopher Do you feel he could be sure in ten minutes that there was no termite tubes hidden in the Blocks .
What would they charge for the termite inspection .

Thanks …Cookie

The Realtor chose the termite guy. I was outside talking to my client, who had just arrived, when he showed up. He went inside to access the crawl space and was back out in a flash. It was about 30’ X 40’ with no lights, 3 to 4 feet deep. I’m not sure what he charged, usually it is $30 to $50.

Notice the termite flashing on top. The light is from my camera.

Thanks Christopher much appreciated … Cookie

That’s a pretty big claim, and one that could easily see an inspector close up shop. Unfortunately, this is what home inspectors are also defending - claims based on negligence. Guilty or NOT - it’s an expensive lesson.