Bortz v. Noon

Albert Bortz (plaintiff) and his wife agreed to buy the home of Patrick and Virginia Noon (defendants). The Noons' agent, Renee Valent, worked for Coldwell Banker (defendant). The Bortzes' mortgage was contingent on the septic system passing a dye test; it initially failed, so the Noons hired a contractor to repair it. A title company representative later told Valent the system had passed a retest, Valent relayed this to the Bortzes, and the sale closed on that basis — no one actually saw the contractor's written report. After closing, the title company admitted it had never actually performed the retest; when it finally did, the system failed and proved irreparable, forcing the Bortzes to connect to the public sewer for $15,000. Bortz sued Coldwell Banker, the Noons, and the title company for misrepresentation and to rescind the sale; the trial court awarded him $15,300 in damages against Coldwell Banker but held the title company and contractor owed no duty to him. On appeal, the intermediate court held all three defendants had a duty to verify the passing test, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to review only whether Coldwell Banker's agent had such a duty.