ERNEST W. KUEHN and JO ANN C. KUEHN, Plaintiffs/Appellants, v. THERESA C. STANLEY and JOHN DOE STANLEY, FIRST MAGNUS FINANCIAL CORPORATION, and CHARTER FUNDING, Defendants/Appellees., 208 Ariz. 124

Summary

After the purchase, the buyers' discovered that the bank's appraiser had deviated severely from standard appraisal practices and that the value of their home was much less. The buyers filed suit, and the trial court granted the bank's motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the court found that the trial court did not err when it addressed the tort of negligent misrepresentation rather than the buyers' claim of simple negligence, as the gravamen of a claim of negligence against a provider of professional information was negligent misrepresentation, and a party could not pursue a claim for negligence separate from a negligent misrepresentation claim. The court noted that reliance was a required element under Arizona's consumer fraud statute, Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 44-1522(A) and held that the buyers had not and were not justified in relying on the appraisal, because it was prepared for financing purposes only and not for the buyers' benefit. As to the contract claim, the court held that the...