Main Content
Stambovsky v. Ackley
This is my all-time favorite case! I particularly enjoy the alternative holding that the seller failed to deliver the house vacant.
Under the common law doctrine of caveat emptor (“buyer beware”), the seller of real property had no duty to disclose defects to the buyer. The buyer had the complete responsibility to assess the condition of the premises.
What policies might justify imposing a disclosure requirement on the seller of residential real property? How do those policies compare to/differ from the policies that led to the imposition of an implied warranty of habitability?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of imposing a duty to disclose on sellers?
How much should it matter whether the parties are each represented by counsel, deal at arm’s length, and have no fiduciary relationship?
This book, and all H2O books, are Creative Commons licensed for sharing and re-use with the exception of certain excerpts. Any excerpts from the Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, and the Model Penal Code are copyright by The American Law Institute. Excerpts are reproduced with permission, not as part of a Creative Commons license.