Home buyer accuses seller, real estate agent of fraud

John Grady filed a lawsuit in the Galveston County District Court on Jan. 22, naming Stephen Radcliff, Lucille Koutnik and ReMax Realty as the defendants.

Grady, of Galveston, is accusing Radcliff, of Austin, and his real estate agent Koutnik, of Galveston, of making false representations about Radcliff's home in order to induce Grady to buy it.

Grady claims he purchased a house on St. Andrews Drive in Friendswood from defendant Radcliff in April 2010. Radcliff purportedly was represented by his neighbor, Koutnik, in the sale of the home. During the sale Radcliff allegedly stated in writing the home had only flooded one time.

Grady claims the home has flooded at least two times and probably three or four.

When Grady went to get flood insurance on the property, he was informed that because of the home's history, he would have to buy high risk insurance which is much more expensive.

Grady claims he wouldn't have bought the home if he had known the truth. Grady is accusing Radcliff of committing fraud by lying about the flood history of the house.

Grady is seeking more than $200,000 in damages.

He is being represented by Richmond attorney Matthew F. Scholes.

Galveston County District Court Case No. 14-CV-0085

 

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Galveston County District Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.