Dispelling the “Binds the Company” PMQ Canard

RSB Vineyards, LLC v. Orsi, No. A143781 (D1d3 Sept. 29, 2017)

In this real estate warranty case, the court affirms a summary judgment in favor of a seller because it didn’t actually know about the defects in the property and thus made no warranty about them. So far as I can tell, all well and good from a real estate perspective. But I’m not here to write about that stuff.

There is, however, a little procedural nugget. Plaintiff’s person-most-qualified witness testified at her deposition that Plaintiff wasn’t aware of any information to suggest that Defendants’ were aware of the defects before the sale. Defendant claims that testimony is a “binding admission” on the fact of the Defendants’ unawareness. But, although there’s not a ton of detail in the analysis, the court here says it’s not.