Woman who bought $1M mice-infested house sues ex-owner, agent
Carrie Luce Forsythe seeks $480K in suit against 5,000-square-foot home's ex-owner and agent
A Winnipeg woman who bought a $1-million house that turned out to be infested with mice is suing the former owner and the real estate agent who listed it, CBC News has learned.
Carrie Luce Forsythe is seeking at least $480,000 in compensation for "reasonable costs of repair and remediation" of the house, according to a statement of claim filed in court last week.
The 5,000-square-foot house had to be stripped down to the studs after Forsythe came across the mouse infestation in the fall of 2012, not long after she had taken possession.
"All you see is just feces and urine, just puddles and piles," she told CBC News weeks after she made the shocking discovery. "The whole vapour barrier is just filled with this nest."
Forsythe had paid $1.025 million for the house, located in the St. Norbert area near the Red River in south Winnipeg.
In her statement of claim, Forsythe says she relied on the listing real estate agent's information and the previous owner's property disclosure agreement, which stated the house was in good shape.
Forsythe alleges the previous owner and the agent "intentionally misrepresented the condition and value of the property in order to effect the sale of the property and thereby ensure that they earned commissions on the sale of the property."
She says she also had to get "all remnants of the rodent infestation" removed, including "live and dead rodents and carcasses," according to the statement of claim.
The allegations contained in Forsythe's statement of claim have not been proven in court. A statement of defence has not been filed at this time.
CBC News toured the home in the fall of 2012 with an independent exterminator, who called the rodent infestation one of the worst he has ever seen.