Court Opinion

ID: 9531041
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:06:51.485712+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:19.805154
License: Public Domain

Lewis, J.,
concurring: I concur in the result achieved by the majority opinion and in the reasoning by which that result is reached.
I am convinced, however, that the key to this action is the agreement between the parties. The contract required Boegel to accept the property “as is where is.” It specifically provides that *555Boegel was to rely on his own inspection and not “upon any express or implied warranty or representation” made by the Bank. It was the failure of Boegel to rely on his own inspection which placed him in his present position. It was absolutely unreasonable for Boegel to have expected the Bank to disclose any information to him under the circumstances. Boegel got what he bargained for; he got the property, wells, pumps, etc., “as is where is.” He has no room whatsoever for complaint.
I would affirm the decision in favor of the Bank on the basis of the agreement between the parties. This may be an application of the “right for the wrong reason” doctrine, but it seems to me to be an inescapable conclusion.
Indeed, I would suggest that the Bank was entitled to a directed verdict on the basis of the agreement between the parties. There can be no viable cause of action for fraudulent concealment in the face of the “as is where is” provisions of the contract.
Counsel for Boegel argued that a decision affirming the verdict for the Bank would reinstate the doctrine of “caveat emptor.” In my opinion, any bargain which requires a buyer to rely on his own inspections is a contract which requires the buyer “to beware.” It is inconceivable to me that a buyer who has negotiated a bargain of this nature could complain about a failure to disclose facts where he is required to rely on his own inspections and then conducts none.
In my opinion, the agreement between the parties is totally inconsistent with a viable claim of fraudulent concealment on the part of the buyer.