This is one case worth watching. If these buyers prevail, it could have implications for the entire industry: [Thanks Trisha!]
Anyone who bought a home near the peak of the once-sizzling real estate market no doubt has found it painful to watch prices tumble with no end in sight. But in the case of one North County couple, it’s not the volatile market they blame but their real estate agent, who they say duped them into overpaying.
And they’re going to court to prove it.
Tomorrow, Vernon and Marty Ummel, who purchased a $1.2 million home in Carlsbad three years ago, will try to convince a jury that their real estate agent defrauded them when he failed to inform them that similar houses on the same block were selling for more than $100,000 less than what the Ummels had paid.
Jury selection is expected to begin tomorrow morning in the Vista courtroom of Superior Court Judge Lisa Guy-Schall.
Although legal experts say the case is intriguing, most doubt it will spawn a raft of lawsuits in which disgruntled buyers go after real estate agents alleging they were led astray.
