A recent case was published regarding a real estate's agent duty to disclose dangerous conditions. While most agents know of the duty to disclose, real estate agents should read on to see how this court applied the rule . . .
In Hall v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC (2013) 215 Cal.App 4th 1134, a buyer's agent was showing a home to a couple. The home listed a "bonus room" in the attic. The room was was accessed by a pull-down ladder from the ceiling. As her clients went up the ladder, she warned them to be careful. She then started to climb the access ladder. As she climbed the ladder, a hinge holding the ladder together came undone. She plummeted to the ground, breaking her leg pretty bad.
The buyer's agent sued the owner of the property, Aurora Loans (REO) as well as the listing agents. The listing agents said they did not know the stairway was in bad shape. As such, they had no duty to disclose the dangerous condition. They also said the dangers of an attic ladder are obvious and should have been known to the buyer's agent as well. The listing agents' attorney filed a motion to get them out of the case. The trial judge agreed with the listing agents and ordered the sale agents out of the case.
The buyer's agent appealed the trial court's ruling to the appellate court and won! The appellate court overturned the trial judge's ruling. The appellate court held that the listing agent could have known the ladder might have fallen apart because of a property inspector's report delivered to the listing agents.
Here is the scary part for listing agents: the property inspection report was pretty bland. There was nothing special about the report. Here is a quote from the court about this inspection report:
It is true . . . that the recommendation to remove and replace the stairway ladder was buried in a long list of suggestions for mostly ordinary or cosmetic repairs. But the recommendation to replace the stairway ladder suggests at least the possibility that it was worn or broken. For all the listing agents knew at the time, [the property inspector] recommended the stairway ladder be replaced because he believed it would soon collapse. Yet there is no indication in the record that the listing agents did anything to follow up with [the property inspector] about the reasons for his recommendation or to inquire further into the stairway ladder's safety.
The sad part is that the property inspector later testified in his deposition that he did not believe that ladder was going to collapse. He only recommended the ladder to be replaced because he thought the ladder system to gain access to the "bonus room" was a "crappy product" and that it "looked bad."
Thus, this case shows that listing agents should read those inspection reports and follow up with and make warnings about the recommendations.
Ken Jorgensen, California Attorney
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardharrod/
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