Creger v. Robertson

542 So. 2d 1090, 1989 WL 30778
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 29, 1989
Docket20417-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 542 So. 2d 1090 (Creger v. Robertson) 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
Creger v. Robertson, 542 So. 2d 1090, 1989 WL 30778 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

542 So.2d 1090 (1989)

Charles David CREGER and Vita Jane Norris Creger, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Richard Paul ROBERTSON and Donna Catherine Welborne Robertson, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 20417-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

March 29, 1989.

*1092 Rountree, Cox & Guin by Gordon E. Rountree, Shreveport, for defendants-appellants.

Tucker, Jeter, Jackson, McMichael & Hickman, by T. Haller Jackson, III, Shreveport, for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before FRED W. JONES, Jr., LINDSAY and HIGHTOWER, JJ.

LINDSAY, Judge.

The plaintiffs, Charles David Creger and Vita Jane Norris Creger, brought suit against Richard Paul Robertson and Donna Catherine Welbourne Robertson, the couple from whom they purchased a house in the Pierremont Subdivision of Shreveport, Louisiana. The plaintiffs asserted that the defendants failed to notify them of the vices in the home which involved the plumbing and an "offensive" odor in the playroom carpet. From a trial court judgment of $1,928.25 rendered in favor of the plaintiffs, the defendants appeal.

FACTS

In the summer of 1987, the plaintiffs became interested in purchasing the defendants' home. The plaintiffs inspected the house twice before the sale, on July 16 and 19, 1987. Mr. Creger testified that he noticed a "peculiar" odor in the house, including the playroom, which had been an open garage before the defendants enclosed it in 1984. However, neither Mr. Creger nor his wife mentioned the odor to the defendants.

The sale was closed on July 31, 1987. The defendants had the house professionally cleaned after they moved out. On August 15, 1987, the plaintiffs took possession of the house. Again, they noticed the odor *1093 but failed to inquire about it. On August 17, their furniture was moved into the house.

The plaintiffs determined that the playroom carpet was the source of the odor and shampooed it. However, the odor persisted. Although no expert inspected the carpet, the plaintiffs concluded that the stains and odors had been caused by dog urine. Mr. Creger testified that there were enormous stains on the underside of the carpet, that the tack strip underneath contained crystalized urine, and that the concrete floor was likewise stained. Mr. Creger called Mr. Robertson and asked him if his dogs had been allowed in the playroom. Mr. Robertson replied that to his knowledge they had not and he was unaware of any odor.

The plaintiffs cleaned the concrete floor with ammonia, Clorox bleach, and muriatic acid. They claimed that after these cleaning attempts, they noticed water running from the curb at one end of the room out onto the gravel parking area. Plaintiffs also testified that they were unable to cure the odor problem.

Mr. Creger then made arrangements to replace the playroom carpet and to pour a new concrete slab over the old one. After the work was completed, Mr. Creger requested that Mr. Robertson come to the house on September 3, 1987. At that time he again asked Mr. Robertson about the odor. Mr. Robertson responded that he wasn't sure what could have happened in the playroom. He further stated that during the three years his family lived in the house, he personally had spent only about twelve hours in that room. Mr. Creger presented him with the bill for repairs and demanded payment. The defendants refused to pay.

The plaintiffs filed suit in Shreveport City Court on September 28, 1987. The plaintiffs sought to recover their expenses for the new slab and carpet, as well as $40.50 spent on repairing a leak beneath the lavatory in the half-bath next to the kitchen. Additionally, they sought damages for their loss of enjoyment, embarrassment and anguish, as well as attorney fees and costs. The defendants answered, claiming that the fifty-two-year-old house was sold "as is" under the sales contract and that the defects were discoverable by simple inspection.

Trial on the merits was held on December 1, 1987. The defendants represented themselves. Mr. Creger testified that he consulted several professionals about the problems. He testified that he spoke to John Porter of Porter's Carpet Cleaners. (However, the defendants filed into evidence, over the plaintiffs' objection, a letter from the president of that company stating that to his knowledge, no one connected to the company had given any advice about the matter.) Mr. Creger also testified that he spoke to two concrete professionals who said he could try cleaning the slab with muriatic acid and coating it with a sealer. However, Mr. Creger stated that he did not utilize that method because of the water leaking onto the driveway. Instead he elected to pour new concrete over the existing concrete floor. Mr. Creger testified that he did not call Mr. Robertson to the house to inspect the situation because he wanted to avoid an "unpleasant incident" and because he felt he had given the defendant ample opportunity to "tell the truth."

The plaintiffs also presented the testimony of Mrs. Creger, and Carol Burns, a family friend who visited the house immediately after the plaintiffs moved in. Mrs. Burns testified that an unpleasant odor was present in the playroom. Mrs. Creger said that the problems with the carpet disrupted her entertainment schedule.

William Johnson, a licensed general contractor, testified for the defendants. He testified that the muriatic acid could have eaten through sealant on the concrete slab and thus caused water leakage to the outside. He further stated that application of a new sealant could have resolved both the odor and leakage problems. He said pouring a new slab was an extreme and unnecessary solution for such a urine problem, and the only reasons to pour the slab would be to level out the former garage.

Mrs. Robertson also testified for the defense, as did a family friend, Elizabeth Lee *1094 Bates Smith, who frequently visited their home. The defendants also presented the testimony of John Charles Murphy, a visitor to the house who also owned a cleaning agency. They all testified that there was no offensive odor in the house.

On May 3, 1988, the trial court issued a written opinion in which it rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. It awarded the plaintiffs $40.50 for the plumbing leak, $1,387.75 for the carpet and concrete, and $500 for their embarrassment, anguish, and loss of use of the home, or a total of $1,928.25. Attorney fees were denied. The trial court found that the "as is" clause in the sales contract referred only to mechanical systems in the house, and applied to flushing mechanisms, electric motors, and appliances sold with the house. A judgment in conformity with the trial court's written opinion was signed on May 5, 1988.

On appeal, the defendants urge the following assignments of error: (1) That the trial court erred in allowing recovery when the sales contract provided that the sale of the house was "as is"; (2) that the trial court erred in finding that the playroom carpet odor was a redhibitory vice and not an apparent defect readily discoverable upon simple inspection; (3) the trial court erred in allowing recovery when the defendants were not given the opportunity to remedy or repair the alleged defect; and (4) the trial court erred in awarding mental anguish damages.

"AS IS" CLAUSE

The defendants argue on appeal that the $250,000 house[1] was sold "as is" for a mere $217,500. They contend that the trial court misinterpreted the "as is" clause, which applied to the whole premises, except for the heating system and plumbing.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
542 So. 2d 1090, 1989 WL 30778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/creger-v-robertson-lactapp-1989.