Q: Purchased a home in 1997 sold as county water and sewer. Selling now and inspector found it's actual a septic tank.
The county requires connection to the sewer, which I would now have to pay for and dig up my yard. All because someone lied on the the contract and said it was county sewer when it wasn't.
A: There are various statutes of limitation that might apply, either for a home sale contract or for fraud. Those are all shorter than 22 years. The clock starts either when the event occurred (when the seller told you it was county water and sewer in 1999) or when you learned about the problem (you just found out), or should have learned about it (should you have inspected in 1999). The seller would say that you should have inspected better when you purchased in 1999, and that the statute of limitations has expired. So you have to be able to prove to the court that you should not have learned about it when you purchased in 1999, because you relied on the seller's false information about the water sewer. You would want the clock to start now, note 1999, so that the statute of limitations has not expired. And you have to be able to find the seller, and the seller would have to have money to pay you if you win a lawsuit, and you would have to able to collect it. Use the Find a Lawyer tab to retain a local litigation attorney to review all the issues with you and advise of your options.
Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer
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