• Welcome to AppraisersForum.com, the premier online community for the discussion of real estate appraisal. Register a free account to be able to post and unlock additional forums and features.

Does a Buyer Have Standing to Sue an Appraiser in Florida for Negligence?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I think this thread has devolved so far into personal attacks. A few of you gentlefolks have offered information that is appreciated.

Those who prefer to go off on wild tangents must have nothing more profitable to do with their time.

The question asked was clear.

The zoning is unique, and was unknown to the buyer at the time of purchase. The use of the property was known. He did not know if he could get financing or not for a condohotel property. He did not know that he was not supposed to be able to reside in it as his permanent, primary residence. Those are the facts. The issue is whether he has standing to sue the appraiser.

All the other fluff that has been interjected calling him an idiot, etc. is mean-spirited. You professionals should know how to act more maturely. I am ashamed for you.
 
TD Morgan said:
I am sorry if I have confused you or others. This was not my intent. The story has not changed.
Click to expand...

I don't feel confused but then again, I haven't read most of the replies. I feel certain that doing so would change that.

To answer the original question, 'does the buyer have standing to sue the appraiser...', the answer is maybe. The laws from state to state vary significantly and unfortunately, some people are only slightly familiar with the laws of their state and aggressively assume they apply nationwide. Only a judge can decide if the buyer has standing; everything else is speculation. All of the boilerplate, disclosures, disclaimers, user limitations, etc. matter little to a judge that thinks that an appraiser's actions have caused financial harm. IMO, if a judge rules that the buyer has standing, the E&O company would settle pretty quickly.
 
TD Morgan said:
What did the Assessor have to do with this matter? Sorry if I have confused you. The zoning department is the one who made the finding.
Click to expand...
TD Morgan said:
The subject property is different and does not require a unit to be put into the hotel pool. There is no management fee if a unit is not in the pool and the owner can manage it however they choose.
Click to expand...
TD Morgan said:
Do you prefer to attack other professionals rather than help? I did not know this forum has devolved so much since I joined almost a decade ago. Not sure where my story has changed "several times" and if you want to make personal attacks, perhaps it is better to ignore the thread.
Click to expand...
Mark K said:
I don't feel confused but then again, I haven't read most of the replies. I feel certain that doing so would change that.

To answer the original question, 'does the buyer have standing to sue the appraiser...', the answer is maybe. The laws from state to state vary significantly and unfortunately, some people are only slightly familiar with the laws of their state and aggressively assume they apply nationwide. Only a judge can decide if the buyer has standing; everything else is speculation. All of the boilerplate, disclosures, disclaimers, user limitations, etc. matter little to a judge that thinks that an appraiser's actions have caused financial harm. IMO, if a judge rules that the buyer has standing, the E&O company would settle pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
First of all E & O Carriers do not settle quickly or easly and there are two parts to litigation. The Plaintiff being the Condo-Hotel owner would have to engage his own private attorney and then file a lawsuit. Here is were it gets nasty for the plaintiff, first off he/she has to establish what $$$ damages he-she has suffered and who is to blame for his damages ? The burden of proof is on his shoulders not the lenders or appraisers. Almost all real estate cases are tried by a Judge and not jury trials because in order to have a jury trial you have to have a whole lot of money to pay for those folks to sit there. These cases are not like TV and the Plaintiffs attorney doesn't walk up to the Bar and start mumbling about some case law that involved an-entirely different type of case that was in an-entirely different State and not even a similar case. The E & O attorneys deal with real estate every day and they know every case law in the books involving appraisal and loan issues. Even the private attorneys in my family don't like going up against E & O or insurance carriers attorneys because that's all they do and they immediately declare the Lender Client Privilege Defense and now suddenly you are not just suing the Appraiser but you have a Big Lender with deep pockets Involved. Think in-terms of $15,000 to $30,000 if it actually goes to trial.

Someone needs to sit this poor Condo-Hotel Owner down with an-attorney and get his head into the real world of how real estate litigation really works and how costly it can be. If the attorney says he has a case fine go for it but the Zoning Issue and the HO Exemption issue is not going to fly and the VA Lender is not rolling over. The VA appraisers report passed their guidelines, and their VA Endorsed Underwriter and SAR signed off on it, and even if they had screwed up nobody is going to admit it.
 
TD Morgan said:
The zoning is unique, and was unknown to the buyer at the time of purchase. The use of the property was known. He did not know if he could get financing or not for a condohotel property. He did not know that he was not supposed to be able to reside in it as his permanent, primary residence. Those are the facts. The issue is whether he has standing to sue the appraiser.
Click to expand...

I haven't read through the responses, so someone else may have already said this.

As far as the buyer not knowing what he was buying, caveat emptor applies. It is the buyer's responsibility to know what he was buying, and it is his fault if he didn't. The exception would be if the buyer specifically hired someone, such as the appraiser in question, to research this information for him, and that person was negligent in researching this information. An appraiser hired by a lending client to appraise the property for securing a mortgage has no relationship to the buyer. Not only that, the appraiser is coming in after the fact; the buyer already agreed to buy the property. That said, given the information, the appraiser may be liable to the client, as distinguished from the buyer.

This is just a general overview from the information given. In legal matters, the nuances of each particular case are important. A lot of spaces would need to be filled in order to make the appraiser liable to the buyer. I know appraisers that have been sued by buyers in NY, and all the cases I've known about were simply dismissed due to privity. The exception being those appraisers that were conspiring to commit fraud.
 
David Wimpelberg said:
I haven't read through the responses, so someone else may have already said this.

As far as the buyer not knowing what he was buying, caveat emptor applies. It is the buyer's responsibility to know what he was buying, and it is his fault if he didn't. The exception would be if the buyer specifically hired someone, such as the appraiser in question, to research this information for him, and that person was negligent in researching this information. An appraiser hired by a lending client to appraise the property for securing a mortgage has no relationship to the buyer. Not only that, the appraiser is coming in after the fact; the buyer already agreed to buy the property. That said, given the information, the appraiser may be liable to the client, as distinguished from the buyer.

This is just a general overview from the information given. In legal matters, the nuances of each particular case are important. A lot of spaces would need to be filled in order to make the appraiser liable to the buyer. I know appraisers that have been sued by buyers in NY, and all the cases I've known about were simply dismissed due to privity. The exception being those appraisers that were conspiring to commit fraud.
Click to expand...

David this thread is Non-Sense and appears to be started from a person who is a CG Appraiser and nothing adds up . If he was wanting legitimate advice he would have listened to his ( Secrete VA Buyers ) accusations and quickly determined that none of it adds up. He claims 10 years on the forum ? This CG needs to send his client, friend who ever to a Real Estate Attorney and be done because he is acting like a troll with no legitimate issue . As a moderator I would ask him what he wants ? He cannot answer that question because he wants people to give him advice, argue, debate on nothing that is factual. MY ADVICE SHUT THE THREAD DOWN : )
 
glenn walker said:
David this thread is Non-Sense and appears to be started from a person who is a CG Appraiser and nothing adds up . If he was wanting legitimate advice he would have listened to his ( Secrete VA Buyers ) accusations and quickly determined that none of it adds up. He claims 10 years on the forum ? This CG needs to send his client, friend who ever to a Real Estate Attorney and be done because he is acting like a troll with no legitimate issue . As a moderator I would ask him what he wants ? He cannot answer that question because he wants people to give him advice, argue, debate on nothing that is factual. MY ADVICE SHUT THE THREAD DOWN : )
Click to expand...
What he said!
 
TD Morgan said:
He did not know that he was not supposed to be able to reside in it as his permanent, primary residence.
Click to expand...
A court could rule that the buyer has a fiduciary responsibility to do their own "due diligence" therefore could have known and should have known the "score" with the zoning restrictions. It is neither the seller, nor agent, nor appraisers job to tell them that. I've actually seen that in a case where the plaintiffs failed....I know the case very well because I and a bank were the defendants and the suit was tossed out before it ever got to anything close to trial.
 
glenn walker said:
David this thread is Non-Sense and appears to be started from a person who is a CG Appraiser and nothing adds up . If he was wanting legitimate advice he would have listened to his ( Secrete VA Buyers ) accusations and quickly determined that none of it adds up. He claims 10 years on the forum ? This CG needs to send his client, friend who ever to a Real Estate Attorney and be done because he is acting like a troll with no legitimate issue . As a moderator I would ask him what he wants ? He cannot answer that question because he wants people to give him advice, argue, debate on nothing that is factual. MY ADVICE SHUT THE THREAD DOWN : )
Click to expand...

I guess personal attacks are simply how you have learned to communicate. Real mature.

The question I posed is the title of the thread. Easy to understand. Please disregard the thread, since you have nothing of value to add.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Find a Real Estate Appraiser - Enter Zip Code

Copyright © 2000-, AppraisersForum.com, All Rights Reserved
AppraisersForum.com is proudly hosted by the folks at AppraiserSites.com
Back
Top