A purchaser, who seeks recourse for hidden defects, has a claim against both the seller and the previous seller.
Frequently, when the buyer of a building discovers a hidden defect, they hesitate to start legal proceedings because their own seller is "untraceable, insolvent or if they are not obligated to provide a guarantee". The Civil Code of Quebec allows them to secure their recourse in certain circumstances.
A buyer purchases a property. In the following months, anomalies affecting the building are discovered. The buyer brings an action for a reduction in the sale price against their seller, invoking the legal warranty against hidden defects. The seller, in turn, calls their own seller to guarantee. The liability of the seller is upheld in the first instance, but the recourse against the previous seller is refused.
The Court of Appeal*, overturning part of the decision of the first instance judge, rules that the buyer has a recourse against both their seller and the previous seller, and that they are jointly and severally liable to the buyer. However, the buyer must establish, for each of them, that the hidden defect existed at the time of each sale and that it was unknown to them at the time of purchase.
Once the meal and the digestif have been savored, the bill can sometimes be hard to swallow, especially when one has to pay it without even being invited to the meal.
*CA 500-09-005791-975
