In the recent and well publicized case of the disgruntled condominium buyer suing her realtor over the disclosure of second-hand smoke, the jury today sided with the realtor. The Boston Globe reports today that the jury took less than an hour to deliberate whether a realtor was liable for allegedly not disclosing to a condominium buyer that her downstairs neighbors were heavy smokers. The trial lasted an entire week, so the fact that the jury was out less than 1 hour demonstrates that they completely rejected the condominium buyer’s claims. Given the facts reported, I think the jury got it right here.
As the Globe reports, although the claims were ultimately rejected, the fact that this case made it all the way to a jury should serve as a warning to realtors to be careful about what they say (or don’t say) about any type of property condition, whether on site or off site. Don’t make statements unless you’ve investigated the facts, and don’t make promises that you cannot back up. That’s what got this realtor into trouble in the first place…
Click here for my previous post on the case.
