Seaweed a Hidden Defect
In a recent case heard in the French Supreme Court, the Cour de Cassation, the purchaser of a coastal property brought an action against the seller for fraud, or, alternatively, a hidden defect (vice caché). The buyer sought annulment of the sale.
The property was located 40 metres from the sea, in an area where the presence of seaweed had been documented. The algae is known to give off a toxic gas that can be harmful to health.
In court the estate agent testified that the buyer had asked about the presence of algae, to which the seller responded that they had not been affected by it.
Nevertheless, it was established that the husband of the owner was a participant in a local association to combat algae pollution and that the seller must therefore have been aware of the problem.
However, the court considered that this did not amount to fraud, as it could not be established that this factor was decisive for the buyer.
In particular, the seller had not been aware of the fragile health of both the seller and her son, and that the presence of the fumes would impact on their health.
In considering whether the lack of information about the seaweed constituted a hidden defect, the appeal court had earlier rejected the claim by the buyer on the grounds that it was an external, natural phenomenon, the occurrence of which was unpredictable.
This interpretation of the law was rejected by the Cour de Cassation, who ruled that external factors of this nature could constitute a hidden defect, provided it affected use of the property.
Accordingly, the decision of the court of appeal was overturned.
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