Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Elizabeth F. Lorell and Associate Krizia Rivera Skinner secured a complete dismissal of GRSM’s client, a professional residential inspector, for third-party claims of indemnification and contribution.
The plaintiffs were purchasers of a house in South Jersey located in a flood zone, wherein they alleged the sellers fraudulently concealed that the house was subject to water intrusion and other material defects. While the purchasers of the house did not directly sue GRSM’s client, the sellers and the sellers’ real estate agents sued the residential inspector for claims of implied indemnification and contribution.
While the GRSM team secured a pre-answer dismissal of the third-party claim for indemnification, the court declined to dismiss the contribution claim. After participating in the entirety of the discovery process, GRSM filed a motion for summary judgment for the remaining claim, as the third-party plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that GRSM’s client was jointly liable for the defendants’ failure to disclose the house’s material defects.
Ultimately, the court agreed with GRSM and dismissed the last remaining claim against GRSM’s client with prejudice. GRSM’s diligent and zealous litigation approach ultimately eliminated all exposure against the residential inspector.