Eastwood v. Horse Harbor Foundation, Inc., 170 Wash. 2d 380 (2010)

Citation: Eastwood v. Horse Harbor Foundation, Inc., 170 Wash. 2d 380 (2010)
Parent Document: Eastwood v. Horse Harbor Foundation, Inc., 170 Wash. 2d 380 (2010)
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Effective Date: 2010-11-04
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4909141/eastwood-v-horse-harbor-foundation-inc/ ↗

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¶21 Although we couched our analysis in terms of looking for an “exception” to the economic loss rule, the core *390issue was whether Bull, as the home seller, was under a tort duty independent of the contract’s terms. The contract between Bull and the Alejandres contained ample disclosures about the home; the Alejandres agreed that “ ‘[a] 11 inspection(s) must be satisfactory to the Buyer, in the Buyer’s sole discretion,’ ” id. at 678 (alteration in original) (quoting ex. 4); the Alejandres acknowledged “their duty to ‘pay diligent attention to any material defects which are known to Buyer or can be known to Buyer by utilizing diligent attention and observation,’ ” id. at 679 (quoting ex. 5), and the Alejandres had their own inspection done. With significant information communicated about the home in the course of contractual negotiations, Bull had no independent tort duty to obtain or communicate even more information during a transaction. The contract sufficed, and the Alejandres’ negligent misrepresentation claim did not survive. We recognized, however, that Bull’s independent duty to not commit fraud persisted, and we would have allowed the Alejandres to sue for fraudulent concealment if they had offered enough evidence to support that tort claim. Id. at 689-90.

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