Griffith v. Byers Construction Co. of Kansas, Inc.
Kansas Supreme Court
510 P.2d 198 (Kan. 1973)
Byers Construction (defendant) developed a residential subdivision on a former oil field with soil too saline to grow vegetation, a defect Byers knew or should have known about but concealed, and the lot grading prevented homebuyers from discovering the problem through reasonable inspection; Byers had sold the lots to builders, who then sold completed homes to Griffith and other buyers (plaintiffs), who sued Byers for fraud upon discovering the soil defect. The trial court granted Byers summary judgment for lack of privity between Byers and the ultimate homebuyers, and the plaintiffs appealed.
Whether privity between a seller and buyer is a necessary element of a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation in a land sale, where the seller sold to an intermediate party knowing the property would ultimately reach the plaintiff buyers.