Natural Hazard Disclosure
In 1991, one of California’s worst fires killed 25 people and burned down 2,886 homes. The legislature then required home sellers to provide buyers a natural hazard report stating whether their homes were within local zones with very high fire severity, as determined by a local governmental agency.
About thirty firms supply these natural hazard disclosure (NHD) reports, but most of them fraudulently report property status as to fire hazards, injuring buyers and sellers by not giving them data they need, and injuring real estate brokers who purchase these reports, not knowing they are inaccurate. The suit seeks to compel accuracy in NHD reports.