The Florida Supreme Court has overruled prior precedent and ruled against appraisers charging a contingent fee or having a contingent interest in the outcome of an appraisal.1 This case will immediately impact all ongoing and future appraisals. If you are in an appraisal with a contingent interested appraiser, you need to immediately seek legal advice about your next steps.
There are two modern day heroes whose work and philosophies I study—Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. Both were involved in a lifetime of passionate work trying to seek justice. Our country celebrates Martin Luther King tomorrow.
My sister, Emily Merlin, has a bachelor’s degree in paralegal administration from the University of West Florida. She reminds me that she can do anything that I can as a lawyer except give legal advice, take depositions or go to hearings. The truth is that paralegals help our policyholder clients and can become subject matter experts. They can make the difference between winning and losing a case.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!
The House and Senate Bills are attached.
My first reading reaction is expressed in the title.
Merlin Law Group wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Slabbed claims are Hurricane losses where the only thing left is the foundation slab. We started calling these claims “slabbed losses” after Hurricane Ivan in 2004. I devoted an entire 2008 blog post to the topic in Slabbed:
My collegues and I coined a new term in 2004, following Hurricane Ivan. We became
Wishing you a Happy Labor Day!
On July 16, 2022, I wrote a blog regarding a recent decision in Wisconsin where the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin limited appraisal to “valuation” disputes. Today, I am pleased to announce that upon a Motion to Reconsider, the court reversed its decision and entered an order requiring the parties to submit their disputes to the appraisal process.1
Continue Reading Wisconsin Federal Court Corrects Its Error and Orders State Farm to Appraisal
Former State Farm adjusters laugh during speeches I give when the topic of State Farm operation guides arises. State Farm uses Operation Guides to make processes for every activity it does. Most insurance companies have these. The funny thing about State Farm’s is that if printed out, they can literally take up twenty feet of pure paper—and this is just for claims.
Continue Reading State Farm Operation Guide Regarding Appraisal