Lawsuit crazy consumers now suing real estate brokers

There are bad things happening for which people deserve to be sued. And then there are situations in which consumers just made bad decisions or didn't do their homework. Suing someone in those cases is ridiculous.

Like this case: Marty and Vernon Ummel are suing a real estate agent saying it's his fault that they paid too much for their house. They say Mike Little, an agent with ReMax Associates, hid "comps" from them, the information about the value of other comparable homes selling in a neighborhood.

The Ummels paid $1.2 million for their home in August 2005, and shortly after moving in, they found that a comparable house was available in the neighborhood for $105,000 less. Other houses in the neighborhood were also selling for less, and the Ummels say the agent didn't want to risk them backing out of the deal, so he didn't tell them about these other homes.

I guess the issue here is whether or not the agent should tell a buyer what the neighborhood comps are. My opinion? No. If the buyer asks, I think the agent has a duty to give accurate information. Beyond that, buyer beware.