Negligent omission is best described as:

• A. An explicit agreement to withhold information
• B. An intentional failure to disclose known defects
• C. An agent accidentally fails to perform some act, such as delivering a counter offer
• D. An act of exaggerating a property's benefits

Answer: (C)

Negligent omission means failing to take a duty-bound action because of carelessness, not because of an intent to deceive. For example, if an agent knows a counter offer should be presented to the other party but accidentally forgets to deliver it, that inaction is a negligent omission—a missed act due to negligence. This differs from intentional concealment or misrepresentation, which involve a deliberate decision to withhold or distort information. An explicit agreement to withhold information would be intentional concealment, not negligence. So the best description is an accidental failure to perform a required act, reflecting carelessness rather than an intent to deceive.