To follow up our comprehensive 50-state chart regarding statutes of limitations pertaining to claims against appraisers, we have compiled, summarized and linked to 16 cases from 12 states involving statute of limitations issues in lawsuits filed against appraisers and AMCs. For appraisers registered with READI, the table of cases can be accessed here. We’ll be adding to it over time.
This is one of the cases summarized in the table:
Homecomings Financial, et al. v. Millhouse, et al., West Virginia Supreme Court (2011). West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of lender’s negligence claim against appraiser based on statute of limitations. The appraiser had performed an appraisal for a loan by the lender in 2003. The loan went into default in 2005. In the foreclosure process in 2005, the lender ordered a CMA and later an AVM, which both raised questions about the value reported by the appraiser. Yet, the lender did not assert its claims against the appraiser until 2008 (in a counterclaim filed in a predatory lending lawsuit initiated by the borrower). The trial court dismissed the lender’s negligence claim against the appraiser based on WV’s 2-year statute of limitations period. The trial court determined that the CMA put the lender on notice of potential issues with the appraisal and started the statute of limitations clock. Thus, in 2008 when the lender filed its negligence claim in its counterclaim against the appraiser, the statute of limitations had expired. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of the lender’s claim.
