CHARLESTON — A couple is suing Property Elite alleging a breach of fiduciary duty.
Crystal Reeves was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Chad Robinson and Emily Robinson entered into a real estate purchase agreement to purchase real property in Charleston on Jan. 12, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
The Robinsons claim on Jan. 17, they retained Dan Alvis of A Second Look Home Inspection to perform a home inspection on the property and discovered the furnace was not functioning as intended and provided a copy of the home inspection report to the defendants.
"Plaintiffs told Defendants that for $250,000, they expected the furnace to function properly," the complaint states. "Defendant Crystal Reeves advised the Plaintiff that she would request the seller purchase a home warranty and that if anything happened with the furnace they would repair or replace it. Crystal Reeves advised that she was personal friends with the regional representative of the home warranty company she requested Plaintiffs use."
On Feb. 17, a final walkthrough was conducted and it was confirmed that the furnace was not working and the plaintiffs raised concerns regarding the furnace not working and sought to cancel the contract or negotiate better terms to account for the non-working furnace prior to closing, according to the suit.
The Robinsons claim rather than cancel the contract, the defendants encouraged the plaintiffs to continue the closing and advised and reminded them that the home warranty would repair or replace the non-working furnace at no cost to the plaintiffs other than the $100 service fee and that the defendant would contact her friend and have the service fee expedited and completed without issue.
On the day the plaintiffs moved in, the furnace failed to work and they reported the issue to the defendants and made a claim to the warranty company and the warranty company denied the claim based on the home inspection, which provided knowledge that the furnace wasn't functioning properly, according to the suit.
"Defendants knew or should have known based on their experience as real estate agents that a home warranty would not provide coverage or repair or replace a furnace that was known to not be working," the complaint states. "However, Defendants put their commission based on the sale of the subject real estate ahead of their fiduciary duty to Plaintiffs to advise that a home warranty would not cover a furnace that was known to not be working and persuaded Plaintiffs to proceed with the closing rather than cancel the real estate purchase contract or negotiate better terms including the repair or replacement of the furnace prior to the closing."
The Robinsons had to purchase a new furnace in excess of $18,000 for the home, according to the suit.
The Robinsons are seeking compensatory damages. They are represented by Scott H. Kaminski of Ray, Winton & Kelley in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 23-C-517