1. a. According to the court, did the defendant seller engage in a fraudulent misrepresentation in failing to disclose the “ghostly” condition of her house?
b. The plaintiff won this case on equitable/fairness grounds. Explain the court’s reasoning.
c. Do you agree with the court’s equity/fairness reasoning? Explain.
d. Did the real estate agent engage in fraud for failing to disclose the house’s haunted reputation? Explain.
2. a. What did the court mean by the phrase “caveat emptor?”
b. Why did the court find for the plaintiff buyer, even though “caveat emptor” seemed to be the controlling law in this situation?
c. Would the buyer have been successful in a misrepresentation claim if the seller had said: “This house is so peaceful. We never have any disturbances.”?
d. The defendant seller had fostered the belief that her house was haunted. Did that promotional effort by the defendant influence the court’s decision making? Explain.
3. Explain dissenting Justice Smith’s objection to the majority’s ruling.
4. In 2007, soon after moving from California into the home she had bought in Pennsylvania, Janet Milliken learned that previous occupants, Konstantinos Koumboulis and his wife, died in an apparent murder/suicide after Koumboulis allegedly shot his wife and himself in the house. The sellers, Kathleen and Joseph Jacono, had later bought the home in a real estate auction. Milliken filed a complaint against the Jaconos and the real estate firms involved in her purchase of the house, alleging fraud and misrepresentation for failure to disclose the murder/suicide. Milliken stated in her opening brief that after she and her family had moved into the home, various paranormal events had occurred. How should the court rule? Explain.
Plaintiff, to his horror, discovered that the house he had recently contracted to purchase was widely reputed to be possessed by poltergeists, reportedly seen by defendant seller and members of her family on numerous occasions over the last nine years. Plaintiff promptly commenced this action seeking rescission of the contract of sale.