Helpful advice from real inspectors on home maintenance and improvements.

A recent Minnesota verdict sends a chilling message about the disclosure duties of real estate brokers and their salespeople.

In February the parents of two children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning won $1.9 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against their home’s former owners and the real estate brokerage.

To avoid years of potential appeals, the parties reached a settlement agreement, which reduces the jury award by about $200,000, leaving $1.7 million to be paid by the sellers’ and broker’s insurance companies.

The parents had sued after their sons, ages 4 and 1, died in their sleep, presumably because of a faulty furnace. 5the couple and third son were hospitalized but eventually recovered.

The lawsuit alleged that the sellers and the sellers’ salesperson knew the furnace was faulty on the basis of a home inspection conducted in conjunction with a previous purchase agreement.and that they should have warned the buyers about it.

There was some controversy over whether the salesperson disclosed the problem to the buyers, who weren’t represented by a real estate agent.

Attorneys also argued over the exact source of the deadly fumes.  An expert witness blamed a basement fireplace, which was used for the first time the night before the deaths.

The jury found the brokerage 65 percent responsible and the home’s previous owners 35 percent responsible.

In a related 1998 criminal case, the previous owner was acquitted on two counts of second-degree manslaughter.

Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless and can kill in a matter of hours.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission www.cpsc.gov advises homeowners to check their homes regularly for carbon monoxide leaks.

Burt v. Neubarth et al., Stearns County, Minn., No. C#-96-2506

Reprinted from the May 200 issue of REALTOR Magazine. Copyright 2000.

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