Buyer v. Seller: Latent Defects and Proof of Seller's Bad Faith

A purchaser of real estate brought an action against a seller for latent defects that rendered the property unusable for its intended purpose, asserting that the seller knew or should have known of these defects at the time of sale, which constituted fraudulent concealment. The court, in rejecting the appeal, affirmed that the seller's liability for latent defects under the Civil Code requires proof that the defect existed at the time of the sale and was not discoverable by an ordinary examination, and importantly, that the buyer must demonstrate the seller's bad faith, meaning the seller actively concealed the known defect or failed to disclose a significant, non-apparent defect, which the lower court had found was not sufficiently established based on the evidence presented regarding the alleged fraud.