BELLEVILLE — A military family who had to purchase a house "sight unseen" due to COVID-19 restrictions on military travel is claiming the realtor and previous property owners failed to disclose and covered up property defects.
Thomas Henzl and Sommer Henzl. filed a complaint https://s3.amazonaws.com/jnswire/jns-media/37/67/11504035/20l951.pdf Dec. 2 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Christopher Freeman, Marylee Freeman, Tanya Hawkins and Dawn Tomko, alleging fraudulent misrepresentation, violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and Property Disclosure Act and unjust enrichment.
According to the complaint, the Henzls entered into a contract with the Freemans on Feb. 28 to purchase real estate located on Conrad Lane in O'Fallon. They allege that they did not view the property prior to signing the sales contract because of Thomas Henzl's employment with the U.S. Air Force and the Secretary of Defense pandemic Restriction on Movement Order. The Henzls claim Tomko falsely represented rooms in the property had been "remodeled" and sent images from a previous sale.
The plaintiffs claim that when they took possession of the property on May 11 they encountered numerous issues. They specifically claim every room had an overwhelming ammonia odor, that the "remodel" was a "do it yourself project" and that the entire house had urine saturation from pets. They further claim the master bath shower/tub was not reassembled properly and that the Freemans failed to disclose the property's defects.
The Henzls seek monetary relief of more than $50,000 and all other just relief. They are represented by Jena Raney of Blake Behme Link Raney PC in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 20-L-0951