Buyer Seeks Rescission Due to Undisclosed Underground Cables

A person who had contracted to purchase a piece of land later discovered that a utility company had already installed underground high-voltage electrical cables across the property, which constituted a significant encumbrance, and subsequently sought rescission of the sale agreement claiming an essential error regarding the property's quality and its fitness for the intended purpose. The court rejected the appeal, finding that the existence of underground utility lines, which are subject to public or regulatory regimes and may be foreseeable, did not constitute a fundamental error concerning the substance or essential quality of the property that would justify nullifying the sale, as the buyer was presumed to have accepted the burden of existing servitudes affecting the land.