court held that the contractual clause did not bar Italian Cowboy's claim for fraudulent inducement because the clause did not meet the elevated requirement of disclaiming reliance on representations in "clear and unequivocal language." See id. at 336. And because the parties' contract did not clearly and unequivocally disclaim reliance, the court did not consider the remaining Forest Oil factors. See id. at 337 n. 8.
2. Discussion
The disclaimer of reliance clause at issue here stated in bold and capital type:
9. LIMITATIONS OF SELLER'S REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SPECIFICALLY STATED IN THIS CONTRACT, SELLER HEREBY SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY, GUARANTY OR REPRESENTATION, ORAL OR WRITTEN, PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE, OF, AS TO, OR CONCERNING (I) THE NATURE AND CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WATER, SOIL AND GEOLOGY, AND THE SUITABILITY THEREOF AND OF THE PROPERTY FOR ANY AND ALL ACTIVITIES AND USES WHICH BUYER MAY ELECT TO CONDUCT THEREON, AND THE EXISTENCE OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS OR CONDITIONS THEREON (INCLUDING THE PRESENCE OF ASBESTOS) OR COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS, RULES OR REGULATIONS; (II) EXCEPT FOR ANY WARRANTIES CONTAINED IN THE DEED TO BE DELIVERED BY SELLER AT THE CLOSING, THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF ANY RIGHT-OF-WAY, LEASE, POSSESSION, LIEN, ENCUMBRANCE, LICENSE, RESERVATION, CONDITION OR OTHERWISE; AND (III) THE COMPLIANCE OF THE PROPERTY OR ITS OPERATION WITH ANY LAWS, ORDINANCES OR REGULATIONS OF ANY GOVERNMENT OR OTHER BODY.[11] BUYER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT WILL INSPECT THE PROPERTY AND BUYER WILL RELY SOLELY ON ITS OWN INVESTIGATION OF THE PROPERTY AND NOT ON ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED OR TO BE PROVIDED BY SELLER. BUYER FURTHER ACKNOWL*371EDGES THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED AND TO BE PROVIDED WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPERTY WAS OBTAINED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES AND SELLER (I) HAS NOT MADE ANY INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OR VERIFICATION OF SUCH INFORMATION; AND (II) DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF SUCH INFORMATION THE SALE OF THE PROPERTY AS PROVIDED FOR HEREIN IS MADE ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND BUYER EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE AGREEMENTS OF SELLER HEREIN, EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED HEREIN, SELLER MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ARISING BY OPERATION OF LAW, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY OF CONDITION, HABITABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, IN RESPECT OF THE PROPERTY. [Emphasis added.] Because the disclaimer of reliance clause must clearly and unequivocally disclaim reliance, we begin with the fifth Forest Oil factor. See id. (listing remaining factors that become relevant if the contract clearly and unequivocally disclaims reliance).
The clause at issue in Forest Oil stated in part that the parties were not "relying upon any statement or any representation of any agent of the parties being released" and that they were each "relying on his, her, or its own judgment." See 268 S.W.3d at 54 n. 4. The clause at issue in Schlumberger stated in part that "none of us is relying upon any statement or representation by