Pascoe v. Detke

Citations

• 2026 Ohio 1971

Syllabus

Residential sale; agreement; residential property disclosure form; summary-judgment motion; fraudulent misrepresentation; fraudulent concealment; R.C. 4735.67(A); civil conspiracy; respondeat superior; \as is\ clause; caveat emptor; R.C. 5302.30; duty to disclose; latent defect; derivative claim; open to observation or discoverable upon reasonable inspection; App.R. 16(A)(7); App.R. 12. Judgment affirmed. The trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of seller, seller's realtor, and the broker. The buyers failed to present evidence that the alleged defects were latent and that the seller or the realtor committed fraud. The doctrine of caveat emptor precludes the buyers' fraud claims. The alleged defects with the roof, heat, and plumbing were either open to observation or discoverable upon reasonable inspection. The record is clear that the buyers lived in the house for approximately 14 months without incident and the alleged defect with the roof occurred over three years after the buyers moved in. There is no evidence in the record suggesting that the seller's omissions on the disclosure form were false or made with disregard or recklessness as to its truth or falsity. Additionally, the \as is\ clause bars recovery. The buyers agreed to purchase the property after personally inspecting the property, having a home inspection completed, agreeing to a roof replacement, and negotiating the price of the property. Therefore, we find that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the seller is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and even when construing the evidence most strongly in favor of the buyers, reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion in favor of the seller. Furthermore, the civil-conspiracy claim against the seller and the realtor fails as a derivative claim. The R.C. 4735.67(A) violations against realtor fail because the alleged issue with the heat was not latent and could have been found in a reasonably diligent inspection. The buyers