Q: About six months ago, I
sold my home, which I had owned for more than 15 years. Recently, I
got a letter from the buyer’s attorney informing me that they had
found an underground storage tank on the property. The attorney
suggested that I had intentionally, and illegally, withheld the
information from the buyers and that I was, therefore, responsible for
paying for the removal. But I had no idea the tank was there. The
prior owner, from whom I purchased the house, never mentioned it, and
I don’t think he knew about it either. Under the circumstances, do I
have any liability, or potential liability, to the current owners? T.C.
Woburn
A: Both
the law and common sense suggest that you can’t disclose what you
don’t know. If you weren’t aware that the tank was buried in your
yard, and there is no evidence indicating that you had reason to know
about it, the owners can’t hold you responsible for failing to
disclose that information. That doesn’t mean they won’t sue you, but
it does mean they are unlikely to prevail in court if they do.
