When a family with a two-year-old boy moved into a house that was more than 100 years old, they had no idea that the house was covered in lead-based paint. The reason they were unaware of this was because the real estate agent never informed them of the contamination when they purchased the house.

Seventeen months after moving in, the child was diagnosed with lead poisoning.

The home’s seller had notified the agent of the presence of lead paint when the house first went on the market. The agent disclosed the information to a previous potential buyer, who later backed out of the sale after reviewing the lead paint inspection results. When the second buyers, the family with the little boy, made an offer on the house, the agent withheld the lead paint report from the new buyers, who bought the home in 2014.

Recently, the 73-year-old Niagara County, New York, real estate agent pled guilty in U.S. District Court to failing to disclose an inspection report, which disclosed the lead paint. She was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay restitution of $53,326.

The buyers have also sued for civil damages, naming the agent and the seller for damages equaling the $132,000 sale price, plus triple damages for violating the law, and general negligence. Thomas J. Prohaska “Lockport couple sues real estate agent, home seller over lead poisoning” www.buffalonews.com (Apr. 13, 2018).

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* Hanover Insurance Group