BELLEVILLE – A Belleville resident has filed a lawsuit claiming that a property owner knowingly sold her a residence without disclosing the property's numerous defects.
Plaintiff Nancy J. Symns filed a lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against defendant William B. Burnworth, Jr., citing fraud and breach of contract.
According to the lawsuit, on July 29, 2020, Burnworth completed and signed a Residential Real Property Disclosure Report and entered into a deal with Symns to sell her a residential property in Belleville for $135,000.
Symns states that pursuant to the Illinois Residential Property Disclosure Act, Burnworth was obligated to disclose any property defects prior to it's sale. After closing on the property, the defendant allegedly said he was unaware of defects in the property, including material defects in the property's plumbing system, electrical system, septic system, roof, and various other material defects in the property.
Symns states that by omitting these material defects from the initial report and failing to provide the plaintiff with a supplemental disclosure to correct these omissions, Burnworth fraudulently induced her to enter into a contract to purchase the property.
The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 to cover out-of-pocket costs, loss of property value, court costs, attorney fees and any other relief the court deems proper. She is represented in this case by attorney Anthony R. Garavalia of Flynn, Guymon & Garavalia in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 22LA0784