Shane Lanham's court case re: a black couple suing him for bias, and him fighting back.

[Carol Gist]

Re: Appraiser Shane Lanham's discrimination case. I'm sure most are aware a couple of years back, Shane was sued by a couple for bias. LoanDepot (a co-defendant) settled with the couple instead of fighting. Shane knew his report was spot on, so he chose to fight and even countersued the couple. His E&O does not cover much (I guess few do in a biased case), and he has a GoFundMe page to help continue his fight. He is taking one for the team, and this could happen to any of us. I just donated to help his cause. If you can, I urge you to support this gentleman fighting for appraisers. His GFM is gofundme.com/f/raise-funds-for-trial.
With my inexperience in GFM, I didn't realize that unless you change it, GFM puts in an auto tip for developing GFM. I didn't want to pay that; it says you don't have to. When/if you donate, when you click your $ amount or input a custom one right below, it says something about a tip. Bring that slide bar over to the left, which will be $0 for a tip. Then continue, and your full fee will go to him. Thank you, Carol

 

[Elliott]

Yeah for Shane !

From Shane's GFM page:

"The Plaintiffs did not retain an expert appraisal witness to either dispute my value or support the value of the second appraisal (Dodd $750k). Instead, they retained Junia Howell. She is described on the internet as an "urban sociologist and race scholar."
................
To rebut the study that Howell performed using those appraisals I supplied, I have retained the services of Tobias Peter of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
.............
I not only meet my goal of $50k but exceed it. "
.............

My money is on Tobias. I'd hope Howell will show her extreme bias ("So Ms. Howell, tell us about the 'grants' you've received in the last five-years?") and flawed statistical analysis and 'thrown off the stand.'

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

A Daubert test for Ms. Howell would be appropriate.

 

[Elliott]

Ms. Howell needs a Dilbert test. : )

 

[George Hatch]

Yeah for Shane !

From Shane's GFM page:

"The Plaintiffs did not retain an expert appraisal witness to either dispute my value or support the value of the second appraisal (Dodd $750k). Instead, they retained Junia Howell. She is described on the internet as an "urban sociologist and race scholar."
................
To rebut the study that Howell performed using those appraisals I supplied, I have retained the services of Tobias Peter of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
.............
I not only meet my goal of $50k but exceed it. "
.............

My money is on Tobias. I'd hope Howell will show her extreme bias ("So Ms. Howell, tell us about the 'grants' you've received in the last five-years?") and flawed statistical analysis and 'thrown off the stand.'

I think an examination of her testimony should start with how she picked her current residence. Did she consider the location? Did she compare locations to each other. Did she weigh these locations by cost? Was comparing locations for their respective differences an expression of her racial biases?, etc.

I think 3 days on the stand might be long enough to cover it all. Then again, maybe not.

All her published comments, what analyses she actually has and hasn't performed prior to making those comments. How many appraisals she has actually read, and how many appraisals from the same appraiser she has analyzed to see if the individual is doing different things in different assignments. Her comments about the appraisal profession in general and the Sales Comparison itself - all discoverable.

 

[Elliott]

Jeremy Bagott weighed in today in an email. (exerts):

"(September 13, 2024) – His nom de guerre is N. D. B. Connolly (think W. E. B. Du Bois or J.R.R. Tolkien). His colleagues know him as Nathan. He’s a professor and director of Johns Hopkins’ Racism, Immigration and Citizenship Program at the school’s history department. The New York Times calls him an expert on redlining in American cities. But for Connolly’s hypotheses to be correct and his life’s work vindicated, one hapless appraiser must be ruined. Call it collateral damage. But thanks to crowdfunding, the appraiser is fighting back. More on that in a minute.

............

The law firm representing the professors, known as Relman Colfax, was flush with cash that year after receiving over $500,000 from a Washington, D.C., nonprofit looking to subvert home appraisals in service of its own aims. Rohit Chopra, head of the Consumer Financial Bureau, recently referred to the nonprofit as a pay-to-play operation steeped in conflicts of interest. The nonprofit wants to be the official purveyor of standards for the creation of algorithms and black-box appraisals in federally related mortgages. It promotes a false narrative closely related to the professors’ allegations – that the nation’s 80,000 state-licensed appraisers are somehow responsible for America’s racial wealth gap. But appraisers know they are simply the messengers delivering the bad news about socio-economic divides in America, not causing them.

After having his name and reputation tarnished in the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, on television and across national wire services, the appraiser, named Shane Lanham, is now fighting a David-vs.-Goliath battle to clear his name. In early 2023, he filed a countersuit against the Hopkins professors for labeling him a racist, making false and defamatory accusations, and causing severe harm to his business, his reputation, and his well-being. He has also filed a motion to dismiss the initial claim, arguing that the Hopkins professors failed to show any facts that support he discriminated against them. As of this writing, he has a war chest of $100,000 and has raised nearly $50,000 in additional funding on his GoFundMe page. You can find it here.

A big problem is that Connolly’s home faces Northern Parkway, a major roadway in Baltimore City that, in most portions, is “at least six lanes wide and used by motorists for crosstown travel,” said Lanham. His suit argues being directly on such a busy street is a “significant factor affecting the value of the property” due to poor air quality, near-constant noise generated by vehicular traffic and the danger posed to playing children. "

 

[Mejappz]

The law firm representing the professors, known as Relman Colfax, was flush with cash that year after receiving over $500,000 from a Washington, D.C., nonprofit looking to subvert home appraisals in service of its own aims. Rohit Chopra, head of the Consumer Financial Bureau, recently referred to the nonprofit as a pay-to-play operation steeped in conflicts of interest. The nonprofit wants to be the official purveyor of standards for the creation of algorithms and black-box appraisals in federally related mortgages. It promotes a false narrative closely related to the professors’ allegations – that the nation’s 80,000 state-licensed appraisers are somehow responsible for America’s racial wealth gap.

TAF and the ASC have been the biggest promoters of this false narrative from the beginning. People are starting to wake up to what I’ve been saying for years. Just look at social media, many appraisers are calling for the removal of both TAF and the ASC.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

Yeah for Shane !

From Shane's GFM page:

"The Plaintiffs did not retain an expert appraisal witness to either dispute my value or support the value of the second appraisal (Dodd $750k). Instead, they retained Junia Howell. She is described on the internet as an "urban sociologist and race scholar."
................
To rebut the study that Howell performed using those appraisals I supplied, I have retained the services of Tobias Peter of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
.............
I not only meet my goal of $50k but exceed it. "
.............

My money is on Tobias. I'd hope Howell will show her extreme bias ("So Ms. Howell, tell us about the 'grants' you've received in the last five-years?") and flawed statistical analysis and 'thrown off the stand.'

They brought in Junia Howell for meetings with the black couple from Marin County that claimed discrimination too. She advocated for a cost based approach with location not being a factor in the appraisal process.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

A big problem is that Connolly’s home faces Northern Parkway, a major roadway in Baltimore City that, in most portions, is “at least six lanes wide and used by motorists for crosstown travel,” said Lanham. His suit argues being directly on such a busy street is a “significant factor affecting the value of the property” due to poor air quality, near-constant noise generated by vehicular traffic and the danger posed to playing children. "

Not to mention if spot runs into the street. I think it sides the busy street, but it still suffers from most things except for parking, but even the properties facing the street typically have parking off a side street from behind.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

Obviously I'm not a lawyer but I think I'd hammer it in court that the prosecution didn't bring in an appraiser expert or the appraiser from the report that they liked.