VIRGINIA J. SINK AND DEBORAH A. CROSS, APPELLANTS,
v.
FLORIDA COMMUNITY SERVICE CORPORATION OF WALTON COUNTY, ET AL., APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Appellants sued the seller of their condominium for failing to disclose a known defect in the building's sewage system that caused flooding. The trial court granted summary judgment for the seller, but the appellate court reversed, finding genuine disputes of material fact regarding whether the seller had knowledge of the defect.
Because evidence demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether Morgan was aware of the sewage system defect at the time of sale, the trial court reversibly erred in granting summary judgment, and the case must proceed to trial.
[1] A genuine dispute of material fact exists when evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, demonstrates a question of fact regarding a party's k…
[2] A seller has a duty to disclose a known defect in a property if the defect materially affects the value of the property.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“If Morgan had such knowledge, and the defect materially affected the value of the property, Morgan had a duty to disclose it to Appellants.”
Establishes the legal standard for seller disclosure obligations under Florida law
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 1995, Appellants' ground-floor condominium was flooded with raw sewage due to a backup in the building's sewage system caused by a power failure di…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Genuine Dispute Of Material Fact cases and more on FLexlaw
BROWNING, J.
This is an appeal from summary judgment for Appellee, F.P. Morgan* (Morgan), entered against Appellants. Appellants claimed in the court below that Morgan failed to disclose a known defect in a condominium before its sale to Appellants. Finding a genuine dispute of material fact, we reverse.
In reviewing summary judgment, this Court reviews the facts in the record in the light most favorable to the party against whom summary judgment was entered. E.g., St Joe Corp. v. McIver, 875 So. 2d 375, 377 (Fla.2004) (unreleased) (in reviewing summary judgment, the court “must examine the record in the light most favorable to ... the non-moving party”).
In 1995, Appellants’ ground-floor condominium was flooded with raw sewage due to a backup in the building’s sewage system. Appellants claim that the cause of the backup was a power failure that disabled the pumps that pull sewage up from holding tanks below sewer level to the level of the sewer lines. The viability of Appellants’ claim depends upon whether, at the time of sale, Morgan had knowledge of this defect in the plumbing system. If Morgan had such knowledge, and the defect materially affected the value of the property, Morgan had a duty to disclose it to Appellants. See Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625, 628 (Fla.1985).
Morgan testified that she had no knowledge of the plumbing defect and never heard or participated in any discussion concerning sewage backups. However, Appellants produced evidence that sewage flooded all the ground floor condominiums in 1986 and that all homeowners, including Morgan, were notified of the problem at that time; that Morgan attended a 1991 homeowners’ association meeting at which the flooding was discussed; and that efforts to remedy the problem had been unsuccessful. Because this evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to Appellants, demonstrates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Morgan was aware of the defects at the time of her sale to Appellants, the trial court reversibly erred by entering summary judgment.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
KAHN and WEBSTER, JJ., concur. *
F.P. Morgan is now deceased, and her estate has been substituted as the proper party.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Johnson v. Morton Davis and Edna Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985)
- ST. JOE Corp. v. McIVER, 875 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 2004)