In Jamaica’s real estate world, when someone is trying to prove negligence, they need to go through four steps: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Let’s break down each step with an example to make it clear.
Imagine Mr. Brown, a real estate agent in Montego Bay, is helping Miss Campbell buy her dream home. He has a duty to be honest, careful, and to give her all the important information about the house. This is called his duty of care. It means he’s supposed to act responsibly and protect her interests.
Now, let’s say Mr. Brown finds out that the house has termite damage, which can be a big problem in Jamaica because termites can destroy wooden parts of a house. But instead of telling Miss Campbell, he decides not to mention it because he doesn’t want her to change her mind about buying. Here, Mr. Brown is not following his duty of care—he has made a choice not to act responsibly. This is called a breach of duty. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do, which is to tell Miss Campbell everything she needs to know.
Miss Campbell buys the house, moves in, and soon finds that the termite damage is much worse than she thought. The wooden floors are weak, and parts of the walls need to be replaced. This is where causation comes in—it’s like connecting the dots. Miss Campbell has to show that her problems with the house came from Mr. Brown’s breach of duty. Because Mr. Brown didn’t tell her about the termites, she now has a damaged house. If he had been honest from the start, she might have chosen a different home or asked for repairs before buying.
Finally, there’s damages. This is the harm or loss Miss Campbell experienced because of Mr. Brown’s actions. In this case, she has to spend a lot of money to fix the termite damage. The damages are the cost of those repairs, and she could go to court to ask Mr. Brown to pay for them.
In summary:
- Duty of care: Mr. Brown should be careful and honest.
- Breach of duty: Mr. Brown didn’t tell the truth about the termites.
- Causation: Because Mr. Brown wasn’t honest, Miss Campbell bought a damaged house.
- Damages: Miss Campbell has to pay for repairs, and she can ask Mr. Brown to cover those costs.
This example shows why it’s important for people in Jamaica’s real estate business to follow their duties carefully. When someone doesn’t, it can cause big problems for the buyer, and they might have to pay the price for something that wasn’t their fault.
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