Home Sales and Liability for Hidden Defects

Questioner

Hello! My husband sold a house in 2001. We sold it in 2014. Since then, it has been sold twice more. The 2001 purchase contract states that there is no septic tank. This is also stated in our sales contract. The current owners of the house are experiencing problems with the toilet (including the smell), and now it turns out there's a septic tank after all. They want to recover the costs of removing it and connecting it to the sewer system from the previous owners. Are we obligated to contribute to this? We were never aware of a septic tank and, in good faith, disclosed this in our sales contract. Are we legally liable now? Yours sincerely,

Questioner

Are the current residents also the buyers of your house, or is there a sale in the works? It's not clear to me yet. The buyer seems to be invoking a latent defect, but that's not necessarily the case if they can simply continue to live in the house. It's also important to know whether a pre-purchase inspection was conducted and what the terms of the sales contract are. You can also contact me directly.