Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Re: post sale issues

First of all, if you are selling a gas station you are going to have to provide an environmental disclosure and possibly testing Your disclosures needs to be in writing The unofficial verbal comment does not protect you at all.

Re: post sale issues

First, a buyer can almost certainly sue. The question is, can she win?

I assume you have a written contract. If not, you should.

Your contract, if you have one, makes certain representations and warranties about the business. There is probably a clause that says that the written agreement is the entire agreement between the parties. If the condition that you described in your question is not disclosed in the contract and its related disclosure schedules, your verbal disclosure will give you little or no protection.

Even if your contract does not say that it is the entire agreement of the parties, you will probably have difficulty proving that you did disclose the condition.

Of course, suing and collecting damages are two different things. Just because it is a pain to have to wait for the water drain, it doesn't necessarily follow that your buyer will be able to prove economic damages.

The prudent thing for a seller in your situation to do is to make sure that any possible conditions of the business that may negatively affect the buyer are disclosed in writing as part of the contract of sale.