Legal News

The Department of Justice recently announced that Hampton Corporation Inc. and several related individuals and entities have agreed to settle a federal lawsuit. The suit alleges a violation of the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act was committed by failing to design and construct apartment complexes and a rental office in North Dakota accessible to people with disabilities.

A lawsuit filed by the city of Peabody (Massachusetts) accuses a commercial real estate appraiser of acting in bad faith regarding the assessment of value on a mansion.

The suit, according to The Salem News, alleges the appraiser failed to disclose he had been placed on probation at the time of the assessment.

Read on for more details surrounding this case.

The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, welcomed some important legislation.

The reintroduction in Congress of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act was brought forward.

Read on to learn more.

A federal Georgia grand jury recently returned an indictment charging an Atlanta certified public accountant.

The charges reflected one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States; 24 counts of wire fraud; 32 counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of false federal tax returns; and five counts of filing false federal tax returns relating to a wide-ranging, abusive tax shelter scheme.

Read on for full details.

The Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board has agreed to stop fixing compensation levels for residential real estate appraisal services as part of a settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC alleged that the board’s conduct violated federal antitrust law.

Read on for more details surrounding this decision.

The issue of racial bias and discrimination in the appraisal profession continues to strike a nerve amongst those in the business.

Valuation Review, which has addressed this topic before, now gives a different viewpoint as seen through the eyes of an attorney.

We spoke with Franklin, Greenswag, Channon & Capilla, LLC attorney Craig Capilla for his thoughts.

BBG recently announced its expert in ligation support services played a significant role in a recent New York State Supreme Court condemnation case that awarded more than $15 million to the owner of a Queens, N.Y. retail building, the company stated in a press release.

New York Supreme Court Queens County Judge Carmen Velasquez ruled in April that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which took possession of the property through an eminent domain action six years ago, must pay $15.43 million, plus interest, for the property located in the Flushing, Queens neighborhood.  

A housing discrimination complaint filed by a Black Indianapolis homeowner alleges appraisers’ valuations of her home more than doubled after she removed items that identified her race and asked a white male friend to be there during an appraisal, according to the Associated Press. 

Carlette Duffy and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana filed complaints with the federal government, alleging appraisers violated fair housing laws.

Read on to learn more.

In April, a drone operator in Goldsboro, N.C. started shooting drone photos and videos for Realtors, which included clients wanting more images with property lines.

Within two years, North Carolina issued an order to ground his drone, according to a release from the Associated Press.

Read on for more details.

Appraisers try to avoid the courtroom, but sometimes it can be unavoidable. In fact, appraisers should never assume they won’t be called to the stand to deliver testimony.

Valuation Review hosted the webinar “How to be an Expert Witness” featuring two veterans from the legal industry who shared helpful tips for appraisers called to be witnesses.

Read on for a brief summary and find out how you can order your copy of the webinar.