Judge OKs ‘Creepy’ Lawsuit

When Derek and Maria Broaddus bought their Westfield, Penn. Home for $1.4 million, they did not expect to wind up on the receiving end of several disturbing letters sent to the address from someone who called him or herself “The Watcher.” The Broaddus family never moved into the home because of the mailings from a person with a “mentally disturbed fixation” on the home. Now, a Superior Court judge has given the okay for the Broaddus’ to sue the former owners, who sold the house without alerting them to the creepy threat. The Broaddus’ lawsuit claims the former owners intentionally or negligently caused emotional distress by not disclosing the letters, but the former owners’ attorney says state law didn’t require his clients to disclose an off-site condition.