Easton v. Strassburger
California Court of Appeal
152 Cal. App. 3d 90 (1984)
Strassburger's broker (defendants) sold a residential property to Easton (plaintiff) for $170,000 without disclosing that the home sat on improperly engineered fill and had suffered three prior landslides, one so severe it had reduced the property's value to an estimated $20,000; agents had personally observed an uneven guest-house floor and repair netting from the most recent slide, yet never ordered a soil report or disclosed any of this. After the sale, new landslides caused extensive damage, and a jury found the broker negligent and awarded Easton $197,000.
Whether a real estate broker has an affirmative duty to conduct a reasonably competent and diligent inspection of residential property and to disclose to prospective purchasers all facts materially affecting the value or desirability of the property that such an investigation would reveal.