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by Garrett Steele on Aug 9, 2015 • Litigation / Expert • 2574 Views
In Southeastern Michigan it has been my experience that appraiser's bid or set their assignment fees for their litigation appraisals in the same way that they do for most appraisal assignments that they complete, or on a flat fee basis. Appraisers tell me that they do however consider the fact that litigation appraisals take them more time and attention to detail than their typical appraisal. Thus flat appraisal fees for litigation related assignments are generally higher.
Appraisers are usually asked to quote an hourly rate for additional research or to consider new issues related to the case. I offer a reasonable fee for this service. Complex issues can take several hours to resolve and write about, so you want to advise your client in writing what the estimated turnaround time will be. You don't want to put several hours in and then have your client say "I would never have agreed to that," litigation is difficult enough, you don't need to have the client turn against you. No one is surprised if they have pre-approved the additional hours.
Appraisers are also often asked to provide a fee for reviewing the opposing party's appraisal. That request must be scrutinized since, besides the obvious potential USPAP problems, pointing out problems in the opposing appraisal can destroy an Appraiser's credibility on the witness stand. You can't act as an independent, unbiased appraiser concerned only with your own appraisal and then turn around an attack an opposition appraisal. It may sound like a good idea to your client or client's attorney but it won't go well with the judge or a jury.
I often suggest to my appraisal client / attorney that another rebuttal appraiser be hired. It sounds like just another expense but it's crucial to an appraiser being able to hold on to their credibility. Sure, I can find the problems with the other appraisal completed for the other side, but do I want to talk about them on the stand? No.
A separate fee for depositions and trial testimony is also usually quoted by appraises to litigation clients. Since deposition / trial testimony time is the most grueling, often being one-on-one and with an appraiser being in a "defend your appraisal" mode, it is generally is quoted at a much higher rate. I have seen appraisal fees for this service as high as $ 450 an hour with a minimums number of hours for trial. Attorneys enjoy attacking this fee, especially the opposition attorney who must pay for the deposition. They always ask "is this your normal fee?" Or they will ask if it's the same fee I charge my client for trial testimony, and if not "why would you charge more for a deposition?"
Since it's difficult to rationalize why a deposition should be billed at a higher rate than trial testimony, I usually just set the deposition and trial testimony at the same rate. Why create a problem for yourself? The clients attorney won't tell you not to go there, he expects you to know how to structure your appraisal litigation fees. When you get into a dispute with the opposition attorney over issues like this he will just take a break and go get a soda.
You have to keep in mind the fact that the client’s attorney is not your attorney. As long as things are working for his client he will be 100% behind you, but the moment you say or do something that doesn't support his case he will fall silent. An appraiser must understand their situation going into an assignment and hiring an attorney who attends the deposition isn't a bad idea, and now you know why those deposition / trial testimony fees are as high as they are.
Garrett J Steele, ASA, MRICS, BAE at gsteele07@gmail.com is an experienced Michigan Certified General Appraiser specializing in commercial real estate appraisals in Charlevoix, Crawford, Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Roscommon, Washtenaw and Wayne County. His Internet website is http://www.horizonappraisals.com
Article source: http://www.appraisalarticles.com/Litigation-Expert-Witness/4561-Setting-Fees-for-Appraisal-Litigation.html
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