Brandao v. McMahon

857 So. 2d 1, 2003 WL 22219054
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 10, 2003
DocketNo. 2003-CA-0207
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 857 So. 2d 1 (Brandao v. McMahon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brandao v. McMahon, 857 So. 2d 1, 2003 WL 22219054 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

CHARLES R. JONES, Judge.

The Plaintiff/Appellants appeal the judgment granting of a Motions for Summary Judgment in favor of the Defendants/Ap-pellees and the Third-party Defendants/Appellees, thus dismissing the lawsuit. We affirm.

The Appellees, Estelle McMahon, Thomas McMahon and Mary Richard, acquired the property located at 2430 and 2432 Con[2]*2stance Street in New Orleans, in a succession proceeding. They listed the property for sale with the Third-Party Defendants and Appellees, Muriel Cassibry, a real estate agent, and ReMax, her real estate agency. The McMahons executed a power of attorney in favor of Ms. Richard to sell the property. They also entrusted Ms. Richard as their “agent”, who then contracted with Ms. Cassibry as the selling agent. On February 11, 1999, the Appellants, Ellen Brandao and John Christy executed a Purchase Agreement for the property owned by the McMahons. Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy were given a property disclosure form indicating that there was termite damage to the property. On February 26, 1999, Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy signed a wood destroying inspection report executed by RLR Termite Services. This inspection report also indicated that the property had visible evidence of wood destroying insects. On March 1, 1999, Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy obtained a roof inspection report lafrom Guaranty Sheet Metal Works, indicating that there was non-termite damage to the roof of the property. On February 26, 1999, the report of Gurtler Bros. Consultants, Inc., indicated that there was structural damage due to the termites.

The act of sale took place on April 28, 1999. The Purchase Agreement did not contain the words “as is” or “waiver of redhibition.” The Appellants argue that at the act of sale, where only a representative of ReMax, Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy were present, the closing attorney indicated that the above stated language was not included in the paperwork and at that time the parties agreed to set aside $10,000 as “liquidated damages” in the event that damages were later discovered.

After Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy moved into the premises, they discovered extensive termite and water damage behind the walls which caused all of the sheetrock to be taken down, the damage to be treated and the walls to be replaced.

On April 3, 2000, Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy filed a Petition in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans against the McMahons and Ms. Richard seeking a reduction in price, expenses incurred for repair and other damages to be proven at trial. In their Answer, the McMahons filed a Third Party Demand against Ms. Cassibry, ReMax and their insurance company alleging that these third party defendants are liable to them for any damages because of the failure to include a waiver of redhibition clause. The McMahons, Ms. Cassibry and ReMax filed Motions for Summary Judgment.

In a judgment signed October 25, 2002, the district court granted the Motions for Summary Judgment on behalf of “Estelle McMahon, Thomas McMahon, Mary Richard, Muriel Cassibry and ReMax”, dismissing all of them from suit. It is from this judgment that Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy appeal. Ms. | .-¡Cassibry and Re-Max also appealed. The district court provided no Reasons for Judgment.

On appeal, Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy offered one assignment of error and Ms. Cassibry and ReMax offered four assignments of error. However, we find that the sole question on appeal is whether the district court erred in granting the motions for summary judgment.

Appellate courts review the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo, using the same criteria applied by trial courts to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. Independent Fire Ins. Co. v. Sunbeam Corp., 99-2181, p. 7 (La.2/29/00), 755 So.2d 226, 230. Although the district court fails to provide Reasons for Judgment, the instant case is full of documented evidence to support the [3]*3district court’s summary judgment in favor of the Appellees.

Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy rely on La. Civ.Code art. 2520 and art. 2521, arguing that there were redhibatory defects and that the termite and water damage should have been apparent through an inspection by a reasonably prudent buyer. La. Civ.Code art. 2520 reads as follows:

The seller warrants the buyer against redhibitory defects, or vices, in the thing sold. A defect is redhibitory when it renders the thing useless, or its use so inconvenient that it must be presumed that a buyer would not have bought the thing had he known of the defect. The existence of such a defect gives a buyer the right to obtain rescission of the sale. A defect is redhibitory also when, without rendering the thing totally useless, it diminishes its usefulness or its value so that it must be presumed that a buyer would still have bought it but for a lesser price. The existence of such a defect limits the right of a buyer to a reduction of the price.

La. Civ.Code art. 2521 reads:

LThe seller owes no warranty for defects in the thing that were known to the buyer at the time of the sale, or for defects that should have been discovered by a reasonably prudent buyer of such things.

Further, the Appellants rely on Amend v. McCabe, 95-0316, (La.12/1/1995), 664 So.2d 1183, arguing that the question of whether termite damage should be apparent to a reasonably prudent buyer is “a matter of fact” that “produces varied and unpredictable results from case to case.”

Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy base most of their argument on the testimony of Gurtler, the termite inspector, who testified at trial that the termite damage he found was not out of the ordinary, and that this type of termite damage did not call for an inspection behind the walls.

Ms. Cassibry and ReMax argue that at the very least, a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Ms. Cassibry was asked to insert an “as is” clause or a waiver of redhibition clause and failed to do so making them negligent. They rely on La. C.C. art. 2521 and La. C.C. art 2522, Notice of existence of defect, arguing that once termite damage was discovered, Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy had a duty to investigate further. We find however, that this argument is secondary as these parties are third-party defendants whose basis for appeal becomes moot per the rendering of this opinion.

According to the record, all of the inspections on the home performed by Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy revealed some type of damage to the property. The RLR Termite report states that the property has “active termites,” and that there is evidence of termite damage. Further, Guaranty Sheet Metal Works documents that the roof is damaged, old, and possibly leaking. Ms. Brandao and Mr. Christy, however, continuously argue that they acted as reasonably prudent buyers in | ¡¡accordance with Amend, and that the Appellees covered up the extent of the damage with “shoddy” work.

Whether termite damage should be apparent to the buyer of a home is a question of fact. Typically, when all of the termite damage is concealed within the home’s structure (e.g., walls and floors) it is considered unapparent because it is not discoverable by a simple inspection.

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857 So. 2d 1, 2003 WL 22219054, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brandao-v-mcmahon-lactapp-2003.