Joe Tavares, Appellant (defendant Below) v. Robert A. and Rosemary Horstman, Appellees (plaintiffs Below)

Summary

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed a $2,083.00 judgment for buyers of a newly built house whose septic system backed sewage into their basement within a little over a year of purchase. The court held that caveat emptor does not apply to the sale of new housing by a builder-vendor, that such sales carry an implied warranty of reasonably workmanlike construction and fitness for habitation whose duration is measured by reasonableness, and that a vendee may also recover for negligent design and construction. The builder's contributory-negligence defense failed because the burden rested on him and his evidence was insufficient.