The Above Ground Pool That Wasn't an In Ground Pool

The following is a true story.

It's a ridiculous true story, but then again, life is sometimes like that.

Our twisted tale begins when Mr. and Mrs. Smith (not their real names) decided to buy a house several years ago.  In the backyard there was an above ground pool that the home owners had buried half way down into the ground.

"This is an above ground pool we buried half way in the ground," they said.  And they made sure to put on the seller disclosure that it was an in ground pool that had been buried in the ground.

So Mr. and Mrs. Smith bought the house.

And they loved the house.

They used the pool and had all kinds of fun with family friends who came over to swim.  There were 4th of July parties and cookouts and the summer kind of fun you do when you have a pool.  

Life was good.

But then, a few years later, Mr. and Mrs. Smith decided to sell their home and buy one with a shop.  The kids had grown up and Mr. Smith really wanted a shop more than a pool.

So they put the house on the market.  And they filled out their seller disclosure making sure to note that there was an above ground pool on the property that had been installed by the previous owners and buried about half way down in the ground.

Well, pretty soon, some folks came along who really liked the house.  And when they looked at the house, they were told that the above ground pool had been installed by the previous owners and buried about half way down in the ground.  

"Okay, great!" They said.  And they bought the house.  And they moved in.  And they loved their new home.  They had wonderful backyard parties.  They swam.  They bar-b-cued.  They did backyard stuff.

But that pool...well it got to bugging them.

It was nice and all, but really, wasn't it an in ground pool?  And if it was, it wasn't done right.  In ground pools don't stick up out of the ground like that.  It was installed all wrong.  And those darn sellers didn't say anything about that.

So the new homeowners decided they would sue. 

After all, you cannot do something like say an in ground pool is really an above ground pool when clearly, it just isn't.

So they did.

And this where I enter the picture.

I know the sellers.  They're good friends.  

They came to me all upset about getting sued over the pool.  So I asked them what happened. And they told me.  And I looked at their disclosure.  And it said that there was an above ground pool that had been installed by the previous owners and buried about half way down in the ground.

So I told them, "Listen, I'm no lawyer, but I'm telling you, In my opinion, you're good.  You disclosed what was disclosed to you.  Consult with your lawyer to be safe, but go to court.  Show the judge your disclosure and tell him/her what happened."

So they did.  They talked to their lawyer.  And he said the same thing (except for the not being a lawyer part).

So they went to small claims court on the appointed day, told the judge their side of the story and showed him/her the disclosure.

The buyers told the judge all about how the pool clearly was not installed properly because that's not how in ground pools look and work.

Anyone want to guess how it turned out???

Yeah, the judge told the silly buyers to get out of the courtroom.

And the moral of the story is, if you know...disclose!

All photos used license courtesy of freeimages.com