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Introduction to Legal Research Exercise Taylor Swiftie thought that she was having the best day when she moved into her new house in Owanka, South Dakota, a place where she thought she would stay stay stay forever & always.“Welcome to South Dakota,” the delicate American girl said to herself as she put down her umbrella and let her beautiful eyes take in the gorgeous view of the town from her living room window. “It’s all mine—I’m the lucky one! In my wildest dreams I never thought I would move into such a wonderland. I’m now a girl at home; this is the perfect place to begin again, Babe!”Taylor had not always had such positive feelings towards the house. When the 22 year old first looked at the place last Christmas she initially experienced a sense of breathless dread.“Hey Stephen,” she said to the real estate agent, “Is this place haunted—did someone die here? Usually I’m fearless, but when I stand here I feel as if there is something evil right on the other side of the door.”“Just breathe deeply, girl,” replied her agent. “That sounds crazier than fiction. Admit it, you are in love—really enchanted—with this place.”Taylor agreed. She knew all too well that she needed a place in this world, and this house certainly had style. The property condition disclosure statement—a document that she was not given prior to making her offer—indicated that no death were known to have occurred in the house in the preceding 12 months.This innocent girl started experiencing unusual happenings within days after she moved into her new place. She constantly felt that she was being watched by invisible Bette Davis Eyes. The house certainly wasn’t holy ground—something mean was stalking her. Taylor would see sparks fly when she would turn the lights off at night, and at midnight the ghostly figure of a white horse would run through the living room. On one occasion she heard a spooky male voice tell her to “jump then fall” when she stood near the window. She realized that it was the end game when she saw dark red bad blood trickling from a blank space in the wall—she was no longer safe & sound in the condo. Taylor pulled on her dress and ran to her getaway car.“I knew you were trouble,” she sadly said while looking at her house from the outside. “I know places.”Taylor visited the real estate agent’s office, explaining that “I don’t wanna live forever in this place” and telling him to “come clean.”“Hold on,” he said, “I did something bad, but don’t blame me.” He then told her that he knew that a murder/suicide had occurred in the house six months before Taylor had made her offer, and that he was aware of that and of that and of the house’s haunted reputation, but had failed to disclose that information.Taylor has come to you, seeking to either get out of the sales contract or receive damages. “If this was a movie, it would be sad beautiful tragic,” she said. You agree to take her case and head off to the law library, probably not for the last time…StatutesS.D. Codified Laws §43-4-37 et seq. governs disclosure statements. The wording of the statement is set forth in § 43-4-44. Section V, Miscellaneous Information, includes the following: a. A human death by homicide or suicide? If yes, explain:________________________________________Yes __________ No __________Section 43-4-42 specifically provides that “A transfer that is subject to §§ 43-4-37 to 43-4-44, inclusive, is not invalidated solely because a person fails to comply with §§ 43-4-37 to 43-4-44, inclusive. However, a person who intentionally or who negligently violates §§ 43-4-37 to 43-4-44, inclusive, is liable to the buyer for the amount of the actual damages and repairs suffered by the buyer as a result of the violation or failure. In any court action pursuant to this section, the court may award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party. Nothing in this section precludes or restricts any other rights or remedies of the buyer or seller.Section 43-4-41 requires that “The seller shall perform each act and make each disclosure in good faith.”CasesStambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254, 572 N.Y.S.2d 672 (1991). The New York Appellate Division held that: (1) vendor was estopped to deny existence of poltergeists on the premises, so that house was haunted as a matter of law; (2) equitable remedy of rescission was available; (3) vendor who had undertaken to inform the public at large about the existence of poltergeists had a duty to inform purchaser; (4) haunting is not a condition which can and should be ascertained by reasonable inspection of the premises; but (5) there was no cause of action against the broker. Supports the need for seller to disclose, but the South Dakota statute does not require disclosure of hauntings.Englehart v. Kramer, 570 N.W.2d 550 (S.D. 1997). Court held that (1) strict liability is not requisite standard under South Dakota's residential real property disclosure statement statute;, and (2) vendor did not fulfill her duty of truthfully completing real estate disclosure statement in good faith when she described basement wall as having “some spots” with cracks and “some crumbling,” when in fact basement walls had large cracks that vendor had covered with paneling four days before putting house on the market. This case has been distinguished but on other grounds and so is valid regarding need to complete disclosure statement where such statement was not waived.Center of Life Church v. Nelson, 913 N.W.2d 105 (S.D. 2018). Court found that vendors were aware of ongoing water-penetration issues that were not disclosed, such that vendors intentionally or negligently failed to truthfully complete disclosure statement in violation of residential real property disclosure statutes.Other cases can be found in South Dakota and other jurisdictions.Secondary SourcesMarc Ben-Ezra and Asher Perlin, Stigma Busters: A Primer on Selling Haunted Houses and Other Stigmatized Property, Prob. & Prop., May/June, 2005, at 59.George L. Blum, Annotation, Duty of Seller of Real Estate and Its Agent to Disclose to Buyer Facts of Past Violent Crimes or Hauntings Within Property Subject to Sale, 18 A.L.R.7th Art. 2 (2017).Hilary M. Goldberg, Disclosing the Inevitable: Reconciling the Varied Requirements for the Disclosure of Death on Real Property, 32 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 183 (2018).Other secondary sources can also be found. Taylor Swift Song Titles Used in the Hypo (see if you can find all 51)22American GirlBabeBad BloodBeautiful EyesBegin AgainThe Best DayBette Davis EyesBlank SpaceBreatheBreathlessCleanCrazierDelicateDon’t Blame MeDressEnchantedEnd GameFearlessForever & AlwaysGetaway CarGirl at HomeGorgeousHauntedHey StephenHold OnHoly GroundI Don’t Want to Live ForeverI Knew You Were TroubleI Know PlacesIf This Was a MovieInnocentInvisibleJump Then FallThe Lucky OneMeanMineThe Other Side of the DoorThe OutsideA Place in This WorldRedSad Beautiful TragicSafe & SoundSparks FlyStay Stay StayStyleUmbrellaWhite HorseWildest DreamsYou are in Love ................
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