Did Chase have a duty to disclose to Hess the ongoing investigation?

Billy Stevens owned a paint company. On several occasions, he ordered employees to load a trailer with 55- gallon paint drums and pallets of old paint cans and then dump them on property he owned. This illegal dumping saved Stevens the cost of proper disposal. Later, employees notified the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of what Stevens had done, and the EPA began an investigation. (Stevens later served time for environmental crimes.)
Stevens defaulted on his mortgage to the land. While Chase Manhattan Bank was in the process of foreclosing, it learned that the EPA was investigating the property for contamination. Chase foreclosed and put the property up for sale “as is.” Several buyers expressed interest. The bank did not inform any of them of the ongoing EPA investigation. Dennis Hess bought the property for $52,000.
After Hess bought the land, he discovered the illegal waste and sued Chase for failing to disclose the EPA’s investigation. The jury awarded Hess $52,000 and Chase appealed.