Family who 'fled home because it was infested with snakes' launch $2m lawsuit against estate agent and prior owner
A couple's 4-year-old son found the first snake
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
A couple in the US state of Maryland have launched a $2million (£1.3m) lawsuit against an estate agent, claiming the firm knowing sold them a home crawling with snakes.
Jeff and Jody Brooks have said their family was driven out of their home in Annapolis because it was infested with the over a dozen of the creatures, with the problem stemming from the basement formerly used as children’s playroom.
The family bought the house in December, and the couple’s 4-year-old son discovered the first snake months after they moved in, according to the family’s lawyer Matthew Evans.
The Brooks are now launching legal action against real estate agent Barbara Van Horn, Champion Realty and ex-homeowner Joan Broseker, the Capital Gazette reported.
A snake inspector soon discovered black rat snakes, snakeskins, dens, tunnels and faeces in the property, and said it was so overrun with the animals that it was unsafe for children, the lawsuit claims.
One pest control company advised the couple that their only option was to “burn the house down and let it sit for 15 years,” after the creatures were found to have tunnelled through the building’s insulation, ABC News reported.
The family gave up hope of returning to their home after they spent nearly $60,000 on pest control.
Van Horn declined to comment to the Capital Gazette. An attorney for Van Horn and Champion Realty told the Associated Press that the company doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments