Local couple wins $75,000 judgment

A cracked basement floor landed a Springfield couple a $75,000 judgment against the party who sold them their home.

A verdict for negligent misrepresentation was granted to Steve and Bonnie Thompson, who bought the house at 3586 S. Willow Wick Trail in Springfield. The sellers were Charles E. Lippincott and his wife, Barbara, who, at the time the lawsuit was filed, lived in Florida.

"We're happy with the result," said Craig Oliver, the Thompsons' attorney.

But the defendant home inspector, exonerated of any wrongdoing by Judge Henry W. Westbrooke with a decision in his favor, said the experience has left him "with a bad taste in my mouth."

After moving into the house in August 1998, the Thompsons discovered a large crack in their basement. The sellers had used drywall spackling and carpet to cover the crack and didn't disclose the flaw to the listing agent or the seller on the disclosure statement.

The crack was covered with pad and carpet and wasn't visible to the home inspector hired by the Thompsons, Todd Kirkpatrick of A-1 Home Inspections.

"I felt that I should have never been sued on this case for things that were totally hidden," Kirkpatrick said. "The crack was covered up. My client (Thompson) was there, and he knew I couldn't see it." Nothing on the outside of the structure indicated there were problems with the floor settling, he added.

"When I got served with these papers, I couldn't believe it," he said. "I had done four (previous) inspections for the Thompson family."

When he was sued, "I had no doubt that I was going to win," Kirkpatrick said, but he still had to spend $12,000 in attorney fees to defend himself. This is the first time in 2,300 inspections that he has been sued, he added. "I always practice honesty and integrity in my profession."

Westbrooke found that Kirkpatrick had no liability because the sellers had failed to tell him about the crack. He wasn't awarded attorney fees, Kirkpatrick said, because he had no written contract with the Thompsons.

Kirkpatrick's usual contract also contains a disclaimer that the inspection is limited to what is visible and he can't do anything invasive to the property, such as ripping up carpet. He added that the room with the crack was "about 70 percent filled with boxes" during the four-hour inspection.

The Thompsons also sued to rescind the home purchase contract based on fraudulent misrepresentation as well as breach of contract. The verdict on the judge-tried case was handed down Jan. 11.