Expert Witness and Litigation Support

Expert witness and litigation support are two related but distinctly different services.

As an expert witness, our qualified appraisers will appear at the examination stage, in court, or at a quasi-judicial proceeding to provide evidence in all matters affecting real estate.  We also provide litigation support through formalized appraisal reviews; assist in preparing for cross examination or preparing exhibits and evidence for a case.  The variety of examples where  expert witness testimony is required includes:  assessment appeals or reviews, expropriation, division of matrimonial property, partnership settlement or separation, foreclosure, zoning applications, ALR applications and other legal matters involving real estate.

Kent-Macpherson has a well established reputation and in-depth experience for providing both expert witness and litigation support, at both the provincial and federal court level.   With a thorough understanding of the legal process and the role of the expert, we are able to provide a proficient opinion at each stage of the proceeding.  We abide by the Supreme Court of B.C. Rules:

(RULE 4.1)  Rules of Civil Procedure, January 1, 2010

Duties of Expert (4.1.01) 

(1) It is the duty of every expert engaged by or on behalf of a party to provide evidence in relation to a proceeding under these rules,

(a) to provide opinion evidence that is fair, objective and non-partisan;

(b) to provide opinion evidence that is related only to matters that are within the expert’s area of expertise; and

(c) to provide such additional assistance as the court may reasonably require to determine a matter in issue

Appraisal review is the most common type of litigation support we are requested to provide.  In a review engagement, an appraiser is requested to act as an independent professional to review specific elements of another appraiser’s report or the report of other related professionals.  The purpose of the review appraiser is to examine the contents of the appraisal report; not necessarily to carry out an appraisal of the property.   The professional obligation for such a technical review requires us to form opinions about the completeness, reasonableness, adequacy and accuracy of the report in its entirety; in turn providing a solid perspective to proceed confidently in presenting the appraisal evidence.