Legal News

Valuation Review shares the legal expertise of attorney Peter Christensen, owner of Christensen Law-Valuation Legal, regarding a 2020 case that has recently settled involving a California certified general appraiser filing a lawsuit against Wells Fargo in state court.

The suit was filed under a special section of the California Labor Code called the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

Read on for Christensen's insight regarding this case.

Craig Capilla, attorney with Franklin, Greenswag, Channon & Capilla, LLC., shared with Valuation Review his perspectives on a few topics pertaining to appraisal bias.

How can the profession continue to provide the guidance and assistance appraisers need to avoid being accused of this practice?

Read on for more of our conversation with Capilla.

The Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced they filed a statement of interest to explain the application of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to lenders relying on discriminatory home appraisals.

The statement of interest was filed in Connolly, et al. v. Lanham, et al., a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging an appraiser and a lender violated FHA and ECOA policies.

Read on to learn more.

Terry Horton, of Cincinnati, was going to refinance a North Avondale apartment building he rented to predominantly Black residents who use Section 8 vouchers, in order to buy another building he would also offer as affordable housing.

Horton, who is Black, was surprised at the low appraisal he received and has taken legal action.

Read on for all the details.

A Marin City, Calif., couple who sued a real estate appraiser over alleged racial discrimination reached an out-of-court settlement, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

Paul Austin and his wife Tenisha Tate-Austin sued appraiser Janette Miller and Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisals in San Rafael.

Read on for the details.

In the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Brigid and Joseph Washington sued Wells Fargo Bank, Accurate Appraisal Service, and Bryan Klosterman, alleging racial discrimination in the appraisal of their home as part of a refinancing application.

Wells Fargo moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim.

Read on for more from this court case.

Earlier, Valuation Review introduced its audience to the House passing H.R. Bill 7735, the Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022. On Dec. 20, the Senate gave its approval, passing the legislation. The passage met with much approval within the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Earlier, Valuation Review reported on a lawsuit filed by a California (Marin City) couple claiming their home was appraised at a low price because of their race.

Recently, a federal judge dismissed the claim of negligent misrepresentation. We spoke with Franklin, Greenswag, Channon & Capilla, LLC attorney Craig Capilla for more insight on this case that has brought much national attention.

Read on for more details surrounding this case.

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit against Missouri-based LJLD LLC and Westminster Properties LLC, the owners, developers and builders of a multifamily housing complex in St. Louis, Mo. The lawsuit alleges that these defendants failed to design and construct housing units and related facilities at the Bridgewater Residences Apartments to make them accessible to persons with disabilities in compliance with the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

In a recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, the court denied a motion in limine from the defendants regarding the potential testimony of a witness testifying to valuations of a business.

The motion asserted that plaintiff SEC’s witness utilized information that was not known and could not be known by the defendants when they prepared their valuations on the same company.

Read on to learn more.