## Facts

- Ernestine Humber bought a newly completed residence from Claude Morton, who built houses on his own land and sold them to the public as a builder-vendor.
- The deed contained a warranty of title but no express warranty concerning construction quality or habitability.
- Humber alleged the house was not fit for human habitation because the fireplace and chimney were improperly constructed.
- The first time a fire was lit in the fireplace, the house caught fire and partially burned.
- Morton asserted the fireplace and chimney were built by an independent contractor and argued he was not responsible for defects in that work.
- Morton also contended that caveat emptor governed real-property sales and barred any implied warranty claim.
- Evidence from prior testimony conflicted on whether the chimney was dangerously defective and whether defective construction caused the fire.

## Issues

1. Whether a builder-vendor who sells a newly constructed home to the first purchaser impliedly warrants that the home was built in a good and workmanlike manner and is reasonably suitable for human habitation, notwithstanding caveat emptor.
2. Whether the presence of factual disputes about a latent construction defect and causation precluded summary judgment for the builder-vendor.

## Decision

- The Texas Supreme Court reversed the court of civil appeals’ affirmance of summary judgment for Morton and remanded for trial.
- The court held that a builder-vendor who sells a new house to the first purchaser impliedly warrants that the house was constructed in a good and workmanlike manner and is reasonably fit for human habitation.
- The court rejected applying caveat emptor to the initial sale of a new home by a builder-vendor.
- Because the record showed material fact disputes regarding defectiveness and causation, Morton was not entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

## Legal Principles

- In the initial sale of a newly constructed home by a builder-vendor, the law implies warranties that the home is (1) constructed in a good and workmanlike manner and (2) reasonably suitable for human habitation.
- These implied warranties arise from the nature of the commercial transaction and do not depend on any express warranty in the deed.
- A builder-vendor cannot avoid implied-warranty liability for latent defects in the completed home by attributing the defective work to an independent contractor or subcontractor.
- Summary judgment is improper when material fact issues exist concerning whether a latent defect existed at the time of sale and whether it caused the claimed damage.

## Conclusion

Texas imposed implied warranties of workmanship and habitability on builder-vendors selling new homes to first purchasers and required a trial because disputed facts about the alleged latent chimney/fireplace defect and resulting fire barred summary judgment.


Humber v. Morton, 426 S.W.2d 554 (Tex. 1968)