Fayette sued in land deal
An attorney for Fayette County’s insurance company argued that the adage “buyer beware” precludes a Pittsburgh-based real estate company from suing over property purchased in a tax sale.
WRH Realty LLC sued the county, its tax claim bureau and director Sarah Thomas last year in federal court. The suit claimed the company was deceived into believing that property purchased in Lower Tyrone Township two years ago had a cell phone tower on it when it did not.
The company bought the property after reading a published legal notice that said there was a tower on the property, and alleged in the suit that Thomas knew the ad was wrong, but held the tax sale in October 2008 anyway.
Attorney Marie M. Jones argued that the company has no standing to sue.
“The doctrine of ‘caveat emptor’ governs sales conducted under Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Tax Sales Law, and this action is not an appropriate remedy for a purchaser of property following confirmation of such sale,” Jones wrote in a motion to dismiss the suit filed last week. Caveat emptor is Latin for “let the buyer beware.”
The suit was initially filed on the state court level, but the company withdrew that claim and filed the matter in the federal court system.
The suit asks for $6,250, which was the purchase price of the property.
and cost of the deed transfer, along with monetary damages and attorneys’ fees. It claims fraud and negligence on the county’s part.