Mackintosh v. California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n

935 P.2d 1154, 113 Nev. 393, 1997 Nev. LEXIS 45
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 27, 1997
DocketNo. 27199
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 935 P.2d 1154 (Mackintosh v. California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mackintosh v. California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n, 935 P.2d 1154, 113 Nev. 393, 1997 Nev. LEXIS 45 (Neb. 1997).

Opinion

[395]*395OPINION

Per Curiam:

Appellants/Cross-Respondents Richard and Lynn Mackintosh (the Mackintoshes) bought a house from Respondent/Cross-Appellant California Federal Savings and Loan (Cal Fed), which owned the house by way of foreclosure. Cal Fed was aware that the basement of the house flooded severely during high water times, but because the sale was “as-is,” Cal Fed did not disclose this material defect to the Mackintoshes. Richard Mackintosh was told of the defect after the sale by a worker hired by Cal Fed and confirmed the worker’s information after talking to the prior owner of the house. The Mackintoshes filed a complaint seeking recision of the contract and/or damages.

Cal Fed and other defendants were awarded summary judgment by the district court on the ground that the Mackintoshes knew or should have known of the defect. However, in an earlier opinion, we reversed the grant of summary judgment, stating that because Cal Fed was both the seller and the lender, a special relationship might have been created between Cal Fed and the Mackintoshes, which imposed a duty on Cal Fed to disclose the existence of material defects to the Mackintoshes.

[396]*396On remand, the district court concluded that a special relationship did exist between the parties and that Cal Fed had breached its duty to disclose. The district court ordered recision of the contract and ordered Cal Fed to return the Mackintoshes’ down payment and mortgage payments, minus the fair rental value of the property. The district court refused to award attorney’s fees, punitive, or other damages, including those for emotional distress, and the Mackintoshes have appealed those decisions. Cal Fed appeals the district court’s conclusion that a special relationship existed and that the Mackintoshes timely filed their complaint for recision.

We conclude that the district court’s judgment was proper, with the exception of its decision refusing to award attorney’s fees to the Mackintoshes. Therefore, we affirm the district court’s judgment with the exception of the attorney’s fees issue, and we remand this case to the district court for a determination of the amount of attorney’s fees owed to the Mackintoshes.

FACTS

This case has previously been before this court in Mackintosh v. Jack Matthews & Co., 109 Nev. 628, 855 P.2d 549 (1993) (Mackintosh I), wherein this court reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of Cal Fed and other defendants. While many of the facts pertaining to this matter are stated in Mackintosh I, we will restate the facts relevant to the issues presented in this appeal.

This case involves the sale of a house located at 5600 Old Highway 395 South in the Washoe Valley. Cal Fed owned the house by way of foreclosure and had placed the property on the market for sale through Pat Hansen, an agent at the real estate offices of Jack Matthews & Company.

The Mackintoshes visited the property on their own. Richard stated that the house was in generally poor condition and that it had filthy carpet, a bad smell, and cracked linoleum flooring. Additionally, Richard stated that he went into the basement but that the lights did not work. Richard stated that he could tell that there had been water in the basement at one time because he saw water stains on the walls, and he also saw a freshly repaired pipe in the basement and concluded that the broken pipe was the source of the water damage. Accordingly, Richard never asked his real estate agent or anyone at Cal Fed about the water damage prior to the sale.

Prior to the sale, Cal Fed had knowledge that the basement had a serious flooding problem. In October 1985, approximately one year prior to the sale to the Mackintoshes, Cal Fed had hired Charles McMillan, a real estate appraiser, to conduct an appraisal [397]*397of the property in question. McMillan’s appraisal mentioned that the home did not have proper drainage to funnel water away from the house and that such drainage was needed. At the time he conducted the appraisal, McMillan saw standing water in the basement and indicated that a new sump pump was needed. McMillan’s appraisal also stated that the basement would need to be filled in if the drainage problem could not be repaired. This appraisal was sent to Cal Fed. Additionally, Paul Stuart, a former owner of the house, stated that he had informed Preston Clark, Cal Fed’s person in charge of foreclosed property in the area, and other Cal Fed employees that the basement had flooded severely while he was in possession of the house.

While the house was still listed for sale, Cal Fed hired Waynco, a local construction company, to perform various repairs on the property in question. Waynco sent Mark Kirk to perform the work. Kirk stated that he was told to repair the bathrooms and kitchen, fix some electrical problems, install carpet, pump water out of the basement, and clean and repaint the basement. Kirk was also told to install a new drainage system around the house and a new sump pump in the basement to prevent future flooding. Kirk stated that this work was largely cosmetic and was done to make the house more appealing to potential buyers.

Kirk stated that he began his work in the basement, which had about four feet of standing water in it. Kirk drained all of the water and washed out the basement. About a week after Kirk began working at the house, David Foote, the owner of Waynco, and Clark went to the house while water was still in the basement. Kirk told Foote that the basement flooding was due to a structural flaw in the design of the house and that the water was seeping in through the walls of the basement.

Foote and Clark later instructed Kirk not to paint the basement, not to install a drainage system, and not to discuss the job with anyone. Kirk was instructed to finish other cosmetic work, and was in the process of doing so, when Richard visited the house. Richard did not introduce himself as a prospective purchaser, and Kirk stated that he told Richard that he worked for Waynco and was detailing the house for sale.

Cal Fed had listed the house for sale “as-is.” The Mackintoshes submitted an offer on the property for the full asking price of $122,400. Cal Fed submitted a counteroffer that required the Mackintoshes to seek and obtain a loan from Cal Fed for the purchase of the home. The Mackintoshes accepted the terms of the counteroffer, and escrow closed on the house on October 29, 1986.

At some point after the Mackintoshes accepted Cal Fed’s [398]*398counteroffer but before the close of escrow, Richard went to see the house again. When he arrived, he saw that all of the carpet had been removed from the house and stacked in the driveway. Richard visited the house again two or three days before escrow closed, and he noticed that the house had been painted and that some of the toilets had been replaced. Richard stated that these repairs were not preconditions to the sale and that because Cal Fed was undertaking to repair the house, he felt that the “as-is” provision covered only the defects that he could see and that Cal Fed was repairing the latent defects.

At the close of escrow, Richard was shown a pest control report which indicated that there was excessive moisture in the house and the basement.

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Bluebook (online)
935 P.2d 1154, 113 Nev. 393, 1997 Nev. LEXIS 45, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mackintosh-v-california-federal-savings-loan-assn-nev-1997.