TMCnet News
Couple sues ex-coach, realty firm: Bought house, say sellers did not disclose problems(The Dominion Post in Morgantown (WV)(KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 14--A former WVU assistant football coach, his wife and a local realty company are being sued by a Morgantown couple who say the sellers didn't disclose that their house had landslide and drainage problems. Christopher and Mary Edwards, of Morgantown, filed the lawsuit in Monongalia County Circuit Court this week against Rick Trickett, now an assistant coach at Florida State University; his wife, Tara; and J.S. Walker Associates, Tara Trickett's former employer. The Edwardses said they bought the house at 139 Stone Brook Estates from the Tricketts, with Tara Trickett acting as the seller's real estate agent, in November 2007 for $648,000. Upon closing, the Tricketts failed to disclose that there had been a drainage problem and landslide problem in the front lawn, that work previously done on the lawn cost about $320,000, and that the problem still existed, the lawsuit said. "The plaintiffs purchased a home wherein the front yard has had extensive repair work to stop the property from landsliding and wherein said repair work was inadequate as the land is still sliding," the lawsuit said. Attorney Jennifer McGinley said it will cost the Edwardses $15,000 just to have the problem assessed and hundreds of thousands of dollars more to correct it. The Edwardses said the Tricketts had a responsibility to disclose that information as sellers of the home and in Tara Trickett's role as the seller's agent and, by not doing so, have breached the contract. They also are suing for fraud and/or misrepresentation and negligence. The Edwardses said J.S. Walker Associates also is liable since Tara Trickett was working for them and they received a commission upon the sale of the house. The Edwardses are asking for an "award of damages in such an amount that will fairly and adequately compensate" them for the problem, lost wages for hours spent dealing with the problem, money for past, present and future moving expenses related to the incident, money for "annoyance and inconvenience," and incidental costs like closing costs, improvement costs, and costs to have the yard evaluated by an engineering firm. A trial by jury is requested. Tina Trickett, reached at her Tallahassee, Fla., home, hadn't yet been notified of the lawsuit and said, therefore, she had no comment. J.S. Walker Associates did not return a call for comment as of press time. To see more of The Dominion Post or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dominionpost.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |