Strong v. Johnson

MARTIN (Harry C.), Judge.

By their appeal, plaintiffs urge this Court to extend the right to sue for breach of implied warranty, as established in Hartley v. Ballou, 286 N.C. 51, 209 S.E. 2d 776 (1974), to those who inherit a dwelling from the initial purchaser. This is a question of first impression in North Carolina, and we are aware of no cases from other jurisdictions which address this precise issue.

In Hartley, our Supreme Court relaxed the doctrine of caveat emptor with respect to defects in new dwellings of which the purchaser was unaware and could not discover by reasonable inspection.…