Sidley Austin Attorney Successfully Defends Housing Disclosure Lawsuit
Guadalupe came to CVLS in September of 2022 with a pressing legal probem. She had sold her house to a neighbor in 2020 in “as is” condition. As part of the sale, Guadalupe was required by Illinois law to fill out a disclosure form listing any known major defects. Since Guadalupe knew of no defects, she filled out the form accordingly.
Two years after the sale of the property, the buyer sued Guadalupe, claiming that the house had termite and water damage that she failed to disclose. The buyer demanded $75,000 in remediation costs. Aa a non-native English speaker with no experience in the legal system, Guadalupe desperately needed help to avoid a financially ruinous outcome.
Guadalupe’s case was placed with Joy Kerr of Sidley Austin. Upon joining the case, Joy filed an amended answer to the complaint, setting forth the timeline of events and explaining that Guadalupe had no knowledge of the damage. The case dragged on for months due to numerous delays and extension requests by the plaintiff.
Joy and her team at Sidley Austin eventually filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing first that the plaintiff made no statement of fact or provided any evidence to support their allegation that Guadalupe was aware of any damage, and second, that the statute of limitations for the lawsuit had expired before the complaint was filed. The Court agreed with Joy’s arguments and ruled for Guadalupe on all counts.
