collapsed sewer lateral

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin


One month after purchasing home, I learn the sanitary sewer line from the house to the main sewer in the road is collapsed. It is collapsed on my property. I continuous experience back-ups due to this. I am having repaired on Monday. Very expensive repair, totally unexpected.
What are my remedies??

Can I go after the seller to pay for the repairs and all related expenses??
Shouldn"t they have disclosed the plumbing problem??

This had to have been an ongoing problem for some time.

Proving that the last owner had to have known will be very hard to do . Alll though you didnt say how old the house is , Is it safe to presume that the house or the lines are quite old ? like maybe original to the time that the house first was hooked up to city sewer ? I used to have a rental that had its original sewer tap made as a shared line with the house next door , After the house next door was torn down the line failed , At first I thought that not enough steps were taken to protect the line by the demolition firm , it was later learned that the line failed where it met a clay tile line that was the original line installed by the city ,wich was what they used back in that era when they also had to hand dig to hook up houses . ONE Thing for sure is that unless you have visible evidence of past problems like say staining in the basement you will have to rely on what the sewer contractor learns and if it was a old connection point like I described then likely you may have no other recourse against any one else . Wait to see what the contractor learns when the line is dug up and then the best thing is if you feel that you have a good chance, feel free to contact a real estate atty and see what the atty has to say about your odds of wining a suit against the seller .