Plaintiff strategy in misrepresentation small claims case

dgoldsmith said:

Hi! I've filed a small claims case in King County, WA, in which I allege that the defendant knew of an expensive-to-repair, not-readily-apparent defect - a blown head gasket - but failed to disclose this fact prior to sale. The defendant put the engine in the vehicle himself (or at least claims to have done so), and yet claims he was unaware of the defect. I contend that this is, literally, incredible: that if he had the knowledge and skill to take an engine out of one car and install it another, certainly he must have known of the defect. Of course, I have no physical or documentary evidence that he had this knowledge, and thus it's basically a "my word against his" situation. Perhaps relevant: after I learned of the defect (a week after purchase, so it seems unlikely that the problem didn't already exist when I purchased it), I gave the defendant two different opportunities to "make good," which he flatly refused. The general advice I seek is how best to present/make my case. In particular, the defendant will no doubt emphasize that it was an "as is" sale, that I was fully aware of and acknowledged this, and that I agreed to these terms of sale without first seeking an indpendent vehicle inspection, all of which claims are true. Can I contend that despite this, the defendant still had a legal responsibility to disclose all known defects? Any other advice would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

DG

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Litigation! said:

My response:

You better look up the definition of "Caveat Emptor", and then dismiss your case. Where did you get this statement: "the defendant still had a legal responsibility to disclose all known defects?" Who said? Show me that law.

IAAL

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