CHICAGO – A Cook County woman is suing a Melrose Park homeowner, alleging he sold her property in a flood plain, but failed to disclose that the home had suffered extensive prior flood damage.
Carolina B. Anderson filed a lawsuit Dec. 15 in Cook County Circuit Court against Hector R. Mendez Mendez, alleging violations of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act.
According to the complaint, Anderson purchased property from Mendez at 9656 W. Dickens Ave., Melrose Park, that was in a flood plain. Although he provided a disclosure report about the property, the suit says, Mendez failed to reveal the site was prone to flooding and had received more than $70,000 in FEMA flood damage claims in 2011 and 2013.
Less than a year after purchasing the home, the suit states, a 2015 flood left Anderson homeless after damages were so extensive the county agreed to a buyout, rather than repairs.
Anderson seeks compensation for the lost value of the home. She is represented by attorney Ellen A. Yearwood of Yearwood and Associates Ltd. in Des Plaines.
Cook County Circuit Course Case number 2015-CH18128