And It Comes With Its Own Stalker!
“Let the buyer beware!” is thought by too many businessmen to be the rule of law. On the continent of Europe, they do lean toward that concept, be we, Americans, have a different system of laws in which there are duties. When selling real estates, there is a duty to disclose any material fact that might effect the value of the property.
Generally this is pretty mundane stuff. From the furnace is going out to a neighbor putting in a hog farm, a seller has to do disclosure. But this case is a little off the beaten track. We’re not dealing with a busted furnace. No. This home comes with its own stalker.
I won’t get into the lurid details or speculate about the likely movie deal. (I have a link below where you can read about it.) This is simple business ethics. First, it’s wrong under the common law not to disclose this kind of material fact. Second, it is absolutely wrong on ethical and moral grounds to deceive by non-disclosure.
That you have a problem and a terrible one cannot be solved by simply selling the property, not morally or, in the case of real estate, not legally either.
If the seller has a good lawyer, he’ll settle this thing by paying out some money. If he has a bad one or wants to cling to the idea that the buyer should have been more cautious, he is going to court and have to take back title after paying compensatory damages and almost certainly a very large punitive damage cost.
That’s justice.
James Pilant
Pilant's Business Ethics Blog 
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