Will live snake be admitted as evidence in homeowner case against real estate agent?
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To help make a Maryland couple’s case that the home they purchased for $410,000 in December 2014 was defective and uninhabitable due to an alleged infestation of Eastern rat snakes, attorneys for Jeff and Jody Brooks say they may bring a live rat snake to the court to show to the jury.
Can they really do that?
“One is allowed to bring any kind of evidence into the courthouse,” Robert Duckworth, who serves as clerk of Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, tells the Capitol Gazette. “It’s up to the judge to decide what can be entered.”
At issue in the $1.5 million case is whether Barbara Van Horn, of Champion Realty Inc. had prior knowledge of the claimed snake infestation and didn’t reveal the problem to the buyers. Van Horn listed the Annapolis home for sale on behalf of her mother, its owner.
Jeff and Jody Brooks say they moved out in April, after discovering eight snakes, and more have since been found. The largest was allegedly seven feet long. The smallest was a hatchling.
Although not venomous, the snakes tunneled through the insulation and established pathways in the walls from the home’s basement to its roof, the couple says. The snakes inside the walls were not apparent prior to closing, but became active as the weather warmed, the plaintiffs contend.
Former tenants also say they found snakes, shed snakeskins and feces while the home was rented between 2008 and 2014, the newspaper reports. However, Van Horn has denied any knowledge of the issue and says the house was not defective or uninhabitable.
As the case heads toward trial next year, both sides have lined up snake experts to provide testimony. A likely point of contention is whether snakes inhabited the home throughout the year or entered periodically due to the presence of a food source—mice.
Hat tip: Daily Mail
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Snake infestation forced home buyers from house, $2M suit alleges”
