We blogged about a Charlottesville Circuit Court case in which the court analyzed the duty to disclose for a seller of residential real estate.  We wrote another post regarding that case discussing an exception to the rule of caveat emptor. Specifically, if the seller attempted to “divert” the purchaser’s attention away from problem areas, a court could find fraud and rescind the contract.

However, in Virginia, if a prospective home purchaser discovers information alerting him to a potential problem, that person is charged with knowledge he would have found had he diligently pursued the inquiry. That rule was highlighted in an unpublished opinion released by the Virginia Supreme Court. This blog post reviews the facts of that case and the lessons to learn for real estate sellers and buyers.

Continue reading “Caveat Emptor and a Buyer’s Duty to Investigate Real Estate Purchase”

We continually warn about the use of work email accounts to correspond with your attorney:

• 3 tips for safe emailing with your attorney;
• Using a company computer to email your attorney may be a bad idea
• Emails from work computer can waive rights to privileged communications

The American Bar Association has now opined that lawyers should “warn the client about the risk of sending or receiving electronic communications using a computer or other device, or e-mail account, where there is a significant risk that a third party may gain access.” Although the ABA’s opinion is not binding upon any state regulatory bar association, it is likely that state bar associations, like the Virginia State Bar, will review this opinion with interest.

Client Email

Most of our communications are not private, even though we think they are. Work emails are not secure. Regardless of whether lawyers are required or suggested to warn clients, it is not a good idea to use your work email account to email your attorney.

Tarley Robinson, PLC, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law

Williamsburg, Virginia

The 2-Minute Drill

1. Governor McDonnell takes Virginia attorneys’ money, still doesn’t fund vacant judge positions. York County will continue to be without a full-time judge.

2. Shocking. A bill has been proposed to limit car title lending interest rate to 36%. Think about it, that means the lending rate is regularly higher than that!

3. I think I’ll do a post on all the lawyer references in “True Grit.”  Some other day. In one scene, Rooster mentions reading Daniel’s treatise on Negotiable Instruments. I looked it up and found this link showing that Daniel may have been a Lynchburg, Va. attorney. How about that?

4. We represent many homeowners associations. . The HOA says inflatable Mickey Mouse is ok, but the “Happy Birthday Jesus” sign, no.