Travis v. Tall Tall Properties, L.L.C.

Citations

• 2023 Ohio 3370

Syllabus

CIV.R. 56(F) – DISCOVERY – MOTION TO COMPEL – SUMMARY JUDGMENT – BREACH OF CONTRACT– FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION – CAVEAT EMPTOR: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiffs' Civ.R. 56(F) motion for additional discovery and motion to compel where the information that plaintiffs sought to obtain was not relevant to the claims asserted in the complaint and would not have precluded summary judgment. Where no genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether defendant seller had knowledge of conditions that it failed to disclose regarding the home purchased by plaintiffs, and where plaintiffs were presented with a home inspection report that disclosed the same information that had been disclosed by defendant, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to defendant on plaintiffs' claim for breach of contract. Where the plaintiffs did not justifiably rely on a misrepresentation or concealment by defendants, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to defendants on plaintiffs' claim for fraudulent misrepresentation. Where the water intrusion and structural issues with the home were open and obvious, the plaintiffs had an opportunity to examine the property and received an inspection report detailing the water intrusion and structural issues, and defendants did not engage in fraud, the plaintiffs' claim for fraudulent misrepresentation was barred by the doctrine of caveat emptor.