Legal News

BBG announced that a jury recently awarded $750,000 to a New Jersey used automobile dealership.

This was in regard to a land condemnation action, the company announced in a release.

Read on to learn more about the case.

After almost seven years of hard fought litigation, plaintiffs reached a settlement in their class-action lawsuit against Countrywide, Bank of America and LandSafe Appraisal Services.

The agreement came 45 days from the scheduled trial date.

Read on for more details of the settlement.

Craig Capilla, from the Franklin Law Group, shares more legal expertise.

Capilla hopes to see improved guidance manuals for those in the valuation profession as the New Year moves forward.

Read on to find out what he had to say.

Valuation Review sought out attorney Craig Capilla, from the Franklin Law Group, to share more legal expertise with the audience, as well as offering insight as to what the appraisal profession can expect in 2020.

Capilla also talked about the recently enacted California “gig worker” law now affecting appraisers.

Read on to learn more.

California will have a new law in place soon with significant implications for the appraisal industry.

Assembly Bill 5 is set to take effect Jan. 1, and is intended to curb the misclassification of independent contractors.

Attorney Peter Christensen (Christensen Law Firm) discusses other key aspects of this legislation.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a “gig worker” law, set to take effect Jan. 1, that is intended to curb the misclassification of independent contractors.

Valuation Review spoke with attorney Peter Christensen, who said under Assembly Bill 5, it probably will not be realistic for a firm to treat a staff member appraiser as an independent contractor.

Read on for the potential impact on the industry.

The appraisal world has more legal issues.

A federal judge threw out a breach-of-contract lawsuit from a former contracted appraiser for an Idaho county.

Read on to learn more about the suit.

One veteran attorney is speaking to the importance of law knowledge for appraisers acting as expert witnesses and that testimony given with such knowledge is helpful when it comes to avoiding legal trouble.

Mike Rikon, of Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C., advises appraisers on what to do when facing a lawsuit and, above all, being prepared, because an understanding of the proceedings is a step in the right direction.

Read on for more.

When appraisers are called upon to testify in court, many unknowns can surface, simply because most appraisers rarely do this, and truly don’t know what to expect.

Valuation Review spoke with attorney Mike Rikon, of Goldstein, Rikon, Rikon & Houghton, P.C., who gave some very helpful guidance tips for appraisers to appear in court without a case of the jitters.

Read on to hear what we were told.

The parties in a class action lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. finds the plaintiffs accusing the bank and appraisal firm LandSafe Inc. of conducting “sham” appraisals.

There are plans to reach a settlement in the case.

Read on for details and what happens next as the case moves forward.