Thought Leadership

Key Points:

• Objectively-quantifiable flaw is needed in order to assert a claim for violation of the RESDL.
• Nazi floor design did not constitute a physical or structural problem with the property.
• Subjectivity cannot drive RESDL claims.

As is well known among real estate agents and brokers, Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law, 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 7301, et seq., places responsibility on sellers to disclose material defects with respect to their property during a real estate sale. Specifically, the RESDL states:

• Any seller who intends to transfer any interest in real property shall disclose to the buyer any material defects with the property known to the seller by completing all applicable items in a property disclosure statement which satisfies the requirements of [§] 7304 (relating to disclosure form). A signed and dated copy of the property disclosure statement shall be delivered to the buyer in accordance with [§] 7305 (relating to delivery of disclosure form) prior to the signing of an agreement of transfer by the seller and buyer with respect to the property.

68 Pa.C.S. § 7303. Liability under the RESDL is extended to agents of the seller where they have actual knowledge of such defect.

While plaintiffs have attempted to expand the reach of the RESDL to more subjective claims, courts throughout the Commonwealth have historically limited permissible claims. Claims are restricted to those regarding defects that substantively impact the value of the real estate, while still being capable of recognition and quantification by objective standards.

The foregoing limitation was recently analyzed in Wentworth v. Steinmetz, 2025 WL 3157571 (Pa. Super. Nov. 12, 2025), which analyzed whether a symbol tiled into a floor of a home constituted a “material defect.” Wentworth involved a dispute between the buyers and seller of a residence in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. After closing, the buyers found the basement floor to be tiled with a swastika and what they believed to be a Nazi eagle. This area of the floor had been covered by a rug when they initially viewed the home, thus, the buyers were not aware of it until after the closing. The buyers claimed they could not be expected to live in a home with such condition and asserted that it would cost $30,000.00 to replace the floor, arguing that the seller was liable for compensatory and punitive damages for failing to disclose the condition. The trial court found for the seller, determining that the symbols did not constitute a material defect, which the buyers appealed.

The Superior Court looked to Milliken v. Jacono, 103 A.3d 806 (Pa. 2014), as modified on reconsideration (Nov. 12, 2014) (Milliken II), where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that purely psychological stigmas are not material defects of property that sellers must disclose. Milliken II involved a claim for violation of the RESDL for the sellers’ failure to disclose a murder-suicide that took place in the residence. If such a duty was to be created, the Milliken II court opined, it should be imposed by the legislature.

Applying the analysis set forth in Milliken II, the Superior Court reiterated that an objectively-quantifiable flaw is needed in order to assert a claim for violation of the RESDL, agreeing with the trial court’s position that the floor design did not constitute a physical or structural problem with the property. The court further reiterated that this objective standard is necessary in order to not only apply the law with consistency, but also to limit the burden placed on sellers. Since the floor in question was sound and functional, the presence of the symbols, no matter how abhorrent, did not constitute a material defect.

While not involving real estate agents, Wentworth is instructive of how Pennsylvania’s courts analyze the wide variety of claims under the RESDL, and the fact that the court appears disinclined to permit subjectivity to drive such claims. Thus, sellers and agents alike can take solace in the fact that claims based on how a party feels about a feature or fixture of a property, without any physical or structural issue, does not pass muster when it comes to the RESDL. Certainly, this is helpful to real estate agents and brokers who are not only bound by the RESDL where they have actual knowledge of an alleged defect, but also owe a duty to their clients to represent them in a professional manner during the sale of the real estate, including advising sellers as to the information that needs to be disclosed.

Indeed, the RESDL does encompass a broad set of areas with respect to the necessary disclosures. However, the courts’ analyses in Milliken II and, more recently, Wentworth, limit the subjective nature of such claims, placing the onus on the legislature if there is to be any expansion with respect to the same.

James works in our Scranton, PA office. He can be reached at (570) 496-4662 or JDGreco@mdwcg.com.