DeMarco v. Granite Savings Bank

1993 Mass. App. Div. 122

This text of 1993 Mass. App. Div. 122 (DeMarco v. Granite Savings Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts District Court, Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
DeMarco v. Granite Savings Bank, 1993 Mass. App. Div. 122 (Mass. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

Forte, J.

This is an action to recover for the defendant-mortgagee’s alleged breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and G.L.c. 93Aunfair and deceptive practices in failing to have a pest inspection performed on the subject property and to disclose the same.

The reported evidence indicates that in 1984, the plaintiffs submitted a standard form mortgage application to defendant Granite Savings Bank (“the Bank”) to secure financing for the purchase of a house in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Bank required a pest inspection for approval of the loan, and an inspection report prior to the closing. The Bank advised the plaintiffs that it would order the pest inspection at the plaintiffs’ expense, and would inform the plaintiffs of any “derogatory” information contained in the inspection report. Based on this representation, the plaintiffs agreed to pay the $50.00 inspection fee and decided not to proceed on their own to obtain an additional termite inspection.

The plaintiffs fulfilled all loan requirements and the Bank approved their mortgage application. At the May25,1984 closing, the Bank requested and the plaintiffs paid the $50.00 inspection fee. Bank employees who handled the closing did not, however, review either the plaintiff’s mortgage file or the mortgage checklist to determine if the pest inspection had been performed and a report filed.

Upon their subsequent discovery that the wood in the basement beams, joists and subflooring of the house was soft, the plaintiffs telephoned the Bank and inquired if the house had passed the termite inspection. The Bank stated that it had.

After further inquiry by the plaintiffs, the Bank finally admitted that the inspection had never been performed. The Bank refunded the plaintiffs’ $50.00 inspection fee, but refused to make any other settlement of the plaintiffs’ claims.

William Brown, a contractor qualified at trial as an expert witness for the plaintiffs, testified that his inspection of the property revealed pock marks and sawdust on the floor boards, and that additional sawdust was produced when he tapped the beams. Brown stated that such structural damage was caused by insects, and estimated the total cost of necessary repairs to be $15,571.00.

The trial court made findings of fact as to the Bank’s negligent misrepresentation, and entered judgment for the plaintiffs.

The Bank thereafter filed a “Motion to Amend Judgment” alleging error in the court’s award of damages for the plaintiffs moving expenses in relocating during the restoration work, and ofprejudgmentinterestpursuantto G.L.c. 231, §6C.The motion was denied.

The Bank now claims to be aggrieved by the courf s evidentiary rulings, and its [123]*123denial of the Bank’s requests for rulings numbers 1,2,3,4,19 and 20 and motion to amend judgment.

1. Rule 64 (a) of the Dist./Mun. Cts. R. Civ. P. sets forth the excliisive procedure for preserving and reporting evidentiary issues to this Division. The Bank’s failure to file a written request for report within five days of the close of trial in compliance with the mandatory provisions of Rule 64 (a) effectively constituted a waiver by the Bank of any right to appellate review of the court’s evidentiary rulings. Gordon v. Sales, 337 Mass. 35, 37 (1958); Concord Oil Co. v. Palmer, 1984 Mass. App. Div. 121, 123.

2. There was no error in the denial of requests numbers 2 and 4 which sought rulings that the evidence required a finding for the defendant-Bank. Afinding for the plaintiffs was instead warranted in part by evidence adduced from B ank employees on deposition which was adverse to the Bank’s interest.2 Such evidence indicated thatthe Bank required termite inspections for the approval of mortgage loans to alert prospective purchasers to structural problems with the property; that consistent with its policies, the Bank advised the plaintiffs that it would arrange for a termite inspection and inform them if there were any negative inspection results; that no pest inspection of the subject property was ever conducted; and that at the closing, the Bank collected the inspection fee from the plaintiffs, but did not even examine its own files to ascertain if the inspection had been performed and if there were any “derogatory” information to disclose to the plaintiffs. The Bank in fact remained silent, thereby implicitly representing to the plaintiffs that there was no “derogatory” or unfavorable inspection information and that the property they were about to purchase was free of pest damage. Further evidence warranted reasonable inferences by the trial judge that there was structural damage to the house caused by pests. See Grossman v. Waltham Chemical Co., 14 Mass. App. Ct. 932, 933 (1982).

It is established that

[ojne who, in the course of his business... or in any other transaction in which he has a pecuniary interest, supplies false information for the guidance of others in their business transactions, is subject to liability for pecuniary loss caused to them by their justifiable reliance upon the information, if he fails to exercise reasonable care or competence in obtaining or communicating the information.

Lawton v. Dracousis, 14 Mass. App. Ct. 164, 171 (1982), quoting from RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS §552 (1) (1977). The reported evidence herein amply warranted the trial court’s findings of the Bank’s liability for negligent misrepresentation. Such findings also properly rendered immaterial the denial of requests 1 and 3 that afindingfor the Bank was warranted. Digesse v. Columbia Pontiac Co., 369 Mass. 99 (1975).

3. There is no merit to the Bank’s contention that its mere silence at the closing did not amount to an actionable misrepresentation. Although mere silence or nondisclosure does not constitute fraud in the absence of a duty to speak, Nei v. Boston Survey Consultants, Inc. 388 Mass. 320, 322 (1983); Swinton v. Whitinsville Sav. Bank, 311 Mass. 677, 678-679 (1942); Henshaw v. Cabeceiras, 14 Mass. App. Ct. 225, 227 (1982), silence may be actionable where the relationship of the parties creates a particular legal or equitable obligation to communicate all facts. Kannavos v. Annino, 356 Mass. 42, 48 (1969); Samia v. Central Oil Co. of Worcester, 339 Mass. 101, 113 (1959); Goodwin v. Agassiz, 283 Mass. 358, 362 (1933). But cf. Wellington v. Rugg, 243 Mass. [124]*12430 (1922). In undertaking to secure a pest inspection of the plaintiffs’ prospective home and to report any negative inspection findings, the Bank assumed the role of the plaintiffs’ agent, Danca v. Taunton Sav. Bank, 385 Mass. 1, 7 (1982),3 and all duties incident to such fiduciary role, Jerlyn Yacht Sales, Inc. v. Wayne R. Roman Yacht Brokerage, 950 F.2d 60, 66-67 (1st Cir.1991), including the duty of full disclosure to the plaintiffs. See generally, Spritz v. Brockton Sav. Bank, 305 Mass. 170, 172 (1940); Bicknell, Inc. v. Havlin, 9 Mass. App. Ct. 497, 500-501 (1980). The Bank’s silence in the face of its duty to speak constituted negligent misrepresentation on the facts of this case.4

4.

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Related

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Bluebook (online)
1993 Mass. App. Div. 122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/demarco-v-granite-savings-bank-massdistctapp-1993.