In Mississippi, controlling case law provides that a mutually agreed upon as-is clause in real estate contracts exempts sellers from liability pertaining to the condition of the property. Moreover, the disclosure form is not a warranty. Although that form did not initially mention that the house had been moved, this fact was disclosed at closing and the buyers were given the opportunity to walk away and get their money back. Moreover, the buyer’s own witness testified that the defects were readily visible.

Although the buyers argued that when they learned of the problems at closing, they were essentially forced to go forward with the house purchase because of the money they had already expended and because they had nowhere else to go, the court found that they had no claim for economic duress: the seller didn’t threaten to do something she had no legal right to do; in fact, the seller offered to let the buyer out of the deal. No threat being present, the buyer’s claim was without merit.