Full question:
I was told by the builder of my new home that we would close on the new house late December 2008. I made plans to visit granddaughter and daughter in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving. Two weeks prior to my trip, they wanted to move closing date to November 28. I reluctantly agreed and changed my plans to come back midnight Thanksgiving. After buying airfare, the builder calls wanting to move closing to day before Thanksgiving. I gave Power of Attorney to my daughter living in Charleston. The following week after closing, the builder reduces price of homes by $20,000. What recourse do I have? If I would have known of this price decrease I would have kept the closing date in December and paid $20,000 less. The builder knew that the price was to be lower the next week and did not disclose this information. Signs were printed with lower price and put up that week. Isn't withholding such information considered fraud?
- Category: Real Property
- Subcategory: Fraud
- Date:
- State: South Carolina
Answer:
Courts have held that a party may rescind a contract for fraud, incapacity, duress, undue influence, material breach in performance of a promise, or mistake, among other grounds. In order to prove a fraud claim, it must be shown that the defendant had an intent to deceive. If deception was used to induce another to rely on a promise and such reliance caused harm, it is possible to recover damages. Fraud may be made by an omission or purposeful failure to state material facts, which nondisclosure makes other statements misleading.
In order to be found liable for fraud, an intent to deceive must be proven. To hold a builder liable for fraud in preparing or procuring a contract, it would be need to be shown that they had knowledge of the facts and misrepresented or intentionally concealed them in order to cause you to act in reliance on their representations, and that reliance led to harm. For example, if a builder stated that the house would not be sold at a lower price, or that prices would not be lowered in the future, and the could prove that this was an intentional misrepresentation made to induce the buyer to move up the closing date, avoiding a price decrease known to the builder, the contract may be able to be rescinded for fraud.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
