The Patins Had Been Transferred to a New City and Had

question 10

Essay

The Patins had been transferred to a new city and had to sell their home before leaving. They received a full price offer which included a warranty that the home had not been insulated with urea formaldehyde. Shortly before closing, the purchasers came by the home to measure the attic opening and discovered that the home was, in fact, insulated with urea formaldehyde. This was unknown to the Patins who had not asked or obtained a warranty when they purchased the home from a construction company several years before. As a result, the purchasers refused to buy the home and the Patins were forced to delay their move and incur considerable expense. The Patins sued the construction company for deceit, claiming that it had induced them to purchase that home but had kept the existence of the insulation secret. The Patins had inspected the house before they purchased it and their agreement specifically excluded any representations and warranties which were not expressly stated in the agreement. Discuss the nature of the Patins' claim and the defences, if any, which might be raised. What would be the likely outcome?

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Definitions:

Jargon

Another name for restricted code; specialized terms or abbreviations whose meanings are known only to members of a specific group.

Bypassing

Confusion caused by the fact that the same word can mean different things to different people.

Polarization

Description and evaluation of what you observe in terms of extremes such as good or bad, old or new, beautiful or ugly.

Vagueness

A lack of clearness or distinctness in description, expression, or detail.