Legal advice needed. Previous owner does not pay for oil tank removal.
May 31, 2015 11:24 PM Subscribe
I purchased a house which suppose to not have an oil thank. Here is the clause in the purchase agreement.
The Seller warrants that the property does not contain an underground oil storage tank, however should an underground oil storage tank be found the Seller shall be fully responsible at their cost for its decommissioning, removal and cleanup of any oil contamination.
There is also this clause :
In the event that an underground oil storage tank or any soil contamination resulting from an underground oil storage tank be discovered on the property the Seller shall have the right to have her own independent experts conduct testing to confirm the existence of either and the sole authority over the contractors and remediation experts selected to conduct any work.
After completion in the middle of excavation (I am building a new house there) I found an oil tank and notified the previous owner. No body showed up the next day and I could not ask the excavators to leave because of the additional cost involved. Therefore I removed the oil tank myself the following day and send an invoice to the seller. The cost was very reasonable (3500$).
The seller is not willing to pay for it. I went to a lawyer and he said the seller is in breach of warranty. He advised me to go to small claim court but he told me that I would have problem serving the notice to her because I don't have her address. I have her realtors address but he is not willing to cooperate at all.
Should I consider this a loss and move on ? I asked my lawyer about the serving problem and he said that the judge might substitute seller's agent instead. How likely is that the judge make such a decision ?
I only have access to her real state agent.
There is also this clause :
In the event that an underground oil storage tank or any soil contamination resulting from an underground oil storage tank be discovered on the property the Seller shall have the right to have her own independent experts conduct testing to confirm the existence of either and the sole authority over the contractors and remediation experts selected to conduct any work.
After completion in the middle of excavation (I am building a new house there) I found an oil tank and notified the previous owner. No body showed up the next day and I could not ask the excavators to leave because of the additional cost involved. Therefore I removed the oil tank myself the following day and send an invoice to the seller. The cost was very reasonable (3500$).
The seller is not willing to pay for it. I went to a lawyer and he said the seller is in breach of warranty. He advised me to go to small claim court but he told me that I would have problem serving the notice to her because I don't have her address. I have her realtors address but he is not willing to cooperate at all.
Should I consider this a loss and move on ? I asked my lawyer about the serving problem and he said that the judge might substitute seller's agent instead. How likely is that the judge make such a decision ?
I only have access to her real state agent.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Sorry, but Ask Metafilter commenters cannot give legal advice. Please contact us if you have questions. -- taz
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