The Lawletter Vol 40 No 3

Brad Pettit, Senior Attorney, National Legal Research Group

      The motion picture industry has produced many horror or suspense films that are centered on the theme of an individual or couple who purchase a dream house, only to subsequently discover, by way of terrifying sights, sounds, and other stimuli, that a gruesome event once occurred on the property. In a courtroom drama sequel to those movies, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania made it clear that the occurrence of a murder/suicide or similar tragic event inside a house does not constitute a "material defect" therein that must be disclosed by a seller to a purchaser. Milliken v. Jacono, 103 A.3d 806 (Pa. 2014), as modified on reconsideration (Nov. 12, 2014). Accordingly, the Milliken court held that a real property seller's failure to disclose the occurrence of a murder/suicide inside a house to a buyer thereof did not constitute actionable fraud, negligent misrepresentation, or violations of unfair trade practices, consumer protection, and real estate sales disclosure laws. In short, the Milliken court concluded that "purely psychological stigmas are not material defects" in property that a seller must reveal to a buyer. Id. at 811. The Milliken court's reasons for its decision were as follows:

The Lawletter Vol 40 No 2

Brad Pettit, Senior Attorney, National Legal Research Group

      A very recent decision by a Florida appellate court illustrates constitutional issues that arise when a state or locality seeks to impose a tax upon sales of goods to out-of-state customers via the Internet. In American Business USA Corp. v. Department of Revenue, 151 So. 3d 67 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), the court addressed the question of whether Internet sales of flowers, gift baskets, other items of tangible personal property, and prepaid telephone calling arrangements by a corporation that was registered to do business in Florida to out-of-state consumers were subject to the Florida sales tax. The taxpayer in the American Business case objected to taxation of its Internet sales to out-of-state customers on the ground that such taxation violated the Commerce and/or Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The American Business court upheld the State of Florida's taxation of Internet sales of prepaid telephone call cards but rejected the State's taxation of Internet sales of flowers and other tangible goods.