NEWTON, N.J. (CN) - Realtors steered homebuyers to a former "sex club" without disclosing that past or the webcams in the basement, a couple claims in court.
Brian and Lauren Gehm filed the lawsuit late last month in Sussex County Court, naming Weichert Realtors, their Sparta and Roxbury offices, and two real estate agents as defendants.
The Gehms claim in their 10-page filing that they hired Weichert's Anne Marie House because they needed a new place to live after the roof on their previous house was damaged in May 2014.
House allegedly directed the couple to a property in Sparta, N.J., on June 30.
After negotiating a two-year lease with a first-refusal-to-purchase option, the Gehms moved in on Aug. 15, according to the complaint.
The satellite guy soon informed them "of several issues with the electrical wiring" and also "discovered webcams installed in the basement of the Sparta property," the complaint filed June 24, 2015, states.
It's at this point, the Gehms allegedly discovered that "the prior tenants used the Sparta property as a 'sex club' and had installed cameras and a closed circuit television system throughout the Sparta property."
Since the sellers' real estate agent at Weichert, co-defendant Karin Meyer, allegedly operated "a company, Intervision Network Corporation, out of the Sparta property for an unknown period of time," the Gehms say that property's sex-club past was a known fact.
Indeed, Meyer's investigation of the Sparta property's condition turned up "two illuminated cages in the basement, a large amount of cocaine on the dining room table, a stockpile of condoms, and multiple pornographic tapes," the complaint states.
The Gehms say they "are unaware if the cameras installed throughout the Sparta property were active and recording [their] every move" while they lived there.
They allegedly vacated the property in October.
"Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants knowingly concealed the fact that the Sparta property was used as a 'disco' and/or 'sex club' and that the Sparta property had hidden web cams installed throughout the building," according to the complaint.
The Gehms supplement the shocking sex-club claims with some more humdrum allegations of misrepresentation, saying the sellers also failed to make various repairs before they moved in, such as "a gas leak in the stove," "inoperable toilets," "inoperable showers" and "electrical wires hanging from the basement ceiling."
House also claimed that the Sparta property was not in foreclosure, when it was, the Gehms say.
Neither House nor Meyer returned a request for comment on the allegations. Spokespeople for Weichert's cited a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
The Gehms seek damages for fraud and breach of contract.
They are represented by Joshua Denbeaux with Denbeaux and Denbeaux of Westwood, N.J.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
