Explanation
Under the principle of caveat emptor, the buyer could not recover from the seller for defects on the property that rendered the property unfit for ordinary purposes. The only exception was if the seller actively concealed latent defects or otherwise made material misrepresentations amounting to fraud.
Before statutory law, the buyer had no express warranty ensuring the quality of goods. Common law requires that goods must be "fit for the particular purpose" and of "merchantable quality", but this implied warranty can be difficult to enforce and may not apply to all products. Hence, buyers are still advised to be cautious.
Read more about this topic: Caveat Emptor
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