Real Estate: Title Expert Witnesses: 12

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

James H. Cantrell, CPM®CAM is a recognized Real Estate Property Management Expert with over 40 years experience. He has served as an expert witness for over 15 years in over 300 cases throughout the country. He is active in day to day management.   Mr. Cantrell has managed a variety of product types, apartments, high-rise office, condominium  association management, industrial/warehouse properties, retail, and large hotels. He is currently active in day to day asset and property management and has established management programs that have maximized the values of the various investments. He is experienced in Case analysis and Court testimony.

Background - Mr. Cantrell served as the President of Cantrell, Harris & Associates, a San Francisco-based real estate management and consulting firm that was formed 30 years ago. He has formed Cantrell Associates which provides property management, litigation support, and expert witness services.  He is a CA Real Estate Broker.  He was an Associate Professor at Golden Gate University for 9 years teaching a  Real Estate Asset/Property management course in the MBA program. He is a graduate of the University of Miami and holds the Certified Property Manager  (CPM) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) where he has been on the faculty for 30 years teaching many courses throughout the United States, Russia and Poland.   

He has an extensive career starting with Arlen Realty as a property supervisor, handling properties in the United States Investment Fund Portfolio, and has held the position of Equity Administrator with Clevetrust Realty Investors, responsible for managing numerous properties throughout the Country. He also served as Treasurer of Regency Equities, a Real Estate Investment Trust, traded on NASDQE, and was President of Plaza Equities Management, Inc., with a national portfolio of mixed assets under his direction. He has served as a Court appointed Receiver on all types of assets throughout California.

Litigation Support - Mr. Cantrell has served or consulted as an expert on behalf of both Plaintiffs and Defendants in over 300 cases. He is uniquely qualified with his experience and teaching background and is your best choice as an expert in litigation.

Areas of Expertise:

Standards of Care, Custom and Practice Property Damage Personal Injury Habitability Landlord / Tenant Maintenance or Failure to maintain Wrongful Death Brokerage disclosures, Negligence

Premises Liability- Trip & Fall Water intrusion, Mold Issues Receiverships Lease Interpretation Partnership Agreements Trust Properties Infestations, bed bugs, vermin Association Board Duties and Negligence

View James Cantrell's Consulting Profile.

Rick Rivera is a Commercial Real Estate Professional and Shopping Center Property, Asset Management, and Brokerage Expert in Southern California. In the real estate business for 30 plus years. 

Mr. Rivera is currently Principal of CBM1, Inc. transacting hundreds of leasing and sales deals per year with a team of 12 agents. 

Former President of Centers Business Management (CBM), overseeing 11 million square feet of shopping centers, thousands of tenants, several hundred landlord clients and dozens of property managers and leasing agents. Clients included private and institutional investors.

Areas of Expertise:

Standard of Care Premises Liability Commercial Property and Asset Management

Industry Custom and Practice Lease Transaction Oversight Landlord and Tenant Representation

Litigation Support - Mr. Rivera offers expert witness services in cases involving commercial real estate. His services are available to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant and include thorough reporting, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. He has also served as a court appointed receiver.

Lawsuit Experience:

Landlord Vs. Tenant Disputes Deferred Maintenance Mismanagement Claims Landlord Vs. Broker Disputes

Premises Liability Partnership Conflicts Standard of Care Duties Dual Agency and Conflict of Interest

View CBM1's Consulting Profile.

Jack G. Cohen has been involved in the Private Money Lending and  Real Estate Industry for over 30 years. He is currently the managing member and director of a private money real estate lending, real estate development, and investment property management company. He is also the San Fernando Realty Real Estate Investment director of the California Bureau of Real Estate. 

Mr. Cohen has experience with commercial, residential, and retail real estate, and construction lending.

Litigation Support: Mr. Cohen has been retained as an expert witness in Real Estate related cases over 50 times since 1990. He represents both Plaintiff and Defense and is experienced with complex cases. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Private Money Lending Credit File and Qualifications  Appraisals Evictions Foreclosures Industry Standards Title Reports Property Management

Tenant and Landlord Issues Brokers and Investor Relation Finance and Documentation Sales and Leasing Insurance Claims Loan Servicing Escrow

Dick Bridy, PhD, is a Commercial Real Estate expert and entrepreneur with over 40 years of Commercial Real Estate Development, Brokerage, Investment, Leasing, Private Equity Sourcing, Operations, Construction, and Asset Management experience. He is the CEO of DBI Group (DBI) and Bedrock Investments Group (BIG), Bedrock 1st Mortgage, DBI Commercial Real Estate, and a principal of DBI Asset Management. 

Background Experience - Dr. Bridy and his team entitled and built two shopping centers and five single tenant properties. In addition, he has contracted for the redevelopment of over 3.5 million sq. ft. in 14 shopping centers in the Midwest and the Western US.

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Bridy is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.Sc. in Economics. His graduate studies garnered academic honors recognition from the San Diego State University Graduate School of Business, the Marshall School at the University of Southern California, and the University of Phoenix, from which he received an MBA, EMBA, and PhD respectively.

For decades, Dr. Bridy has served on the boards of many prominent real estate organizations, including the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, San Diego County Commercial Association of Realtors, and CCIM.

Litigation Support - Dr. Dick Bridy delivers real estate expert witness testimony for the commercial real estate and brokerage industry nationwide. He has been engaged by both plaintiff and defense attorneys. As a commercial real estate CEO, investor, developer, asset manager, broker, and syndicator, Dr. Bridy is an excellent communicator, honed by many years in leadership and advisory positions in the commercial real estate industry and as a Marine Corps officer.

Services include consultation, case review, technical investigation, IME’s, research, laboratory work (in-house or otherwise), report preparation, depositions, arbitration, mediation, court appearances, standby, cancellation of court deposition, and travel. 

Areas of Expertise: 

Asset Management Property Management Portfolio Management Commercial Litigation Premises Liability Disclosure Fraud

Development and Redevelopment Insurance Realtor Fiduciary Matters Constructive Eviction Lease Disputes Discrimination Entitlements

View Bedrock Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

Ken Miller, JD, has over 40 years of experience practicing Law, primarily in the area of Commercial Real Estate Transactions. Since 1999, he has represented clients in the successful closing of over $7 billion of commercial real estate transactions throughout the United States, primarily involving net leased properties.

Litigation Support - Mr. Miller provides expert witness services to law firms representing clients in real estate litigation in California. He has qualified (and testified) as an expert witness on two occasions in lawsuits involving commercial real estate. 

Areas of Expertise:

Commercial Real Estate Commercial Reasonableness Estoppel Certificates Net Leased Properties Residual Value Financing

Credit Tenant Lease Financing Commercial Property Acquisition Real Estate Workouts and Disputes Foreclosure

Mr. Miller's recent transactions include over $1 billion in sale-leasebacks with public companies, such as Walgreens, Citibank, BMO Harris Bank, Rite Aid, and Pep Boys; the roughly $100 million acquisition of the Alcon Laboratories contact lens manufacturing facility subject to the Alcon lease; the acquisition of the 664,000 square foot Dow Texas Innovation Center; residual value financings; credit tenant lease financings; and the acquisition of remainder interests in over two million square feet of commercial property. 

Mr. Miller obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College (summa cum laude) in 1978 and his JD from Stanford Law School in 1981. He has been admitted to practice in California since 1981 and is a resident of Gorman & Miller's Santa Monica office. He has been selected by his peers as a Super Lawyer (2022-2024).

P. Marc Fischer, MBA, CPM^®, RPA^®, CCIM^®, LEED^® GA, BOMA Fellow 

Marc Fischer is a nationally recognized Commercial Real Estate (CRE) expert with more than 30 years of proven performance in the fields of property management, building operations, and asset management. He is widely recognized as an innovative and dynamic leader, and he teaches, writes, and speaks to audiences around the world about CRE topics.

Litigation Support - As an expert witness, Mr. Fischer assists landlord and tenant counsel in finding the truth. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Mr. Fischer supports both plaintiff and defendant counsel in a variety of real estate related issues including:

Property Management Building Operations Asset Management Operating Expense Calculations Landlord / Tenant Disputes Commercial Real Estate Standards of Care Real Estate Premises Liability

Health and Safety Issues Due Diligence Management Agreements Property Management Company Operations Architectural, Design, and Property Management Issues Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Highlights Include:

• 30 years of experience in all aspects of commercial real estate (CRE) property management, asset management, property operations, and construction
• MBA in Management / Organizational Behavior

Industry Designations:

• Real Property Administrator (RPA®)
• Certified Property Manager (CPM®) Designee
• Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM®) Designee
• LEED® Green Associate
• BOMA Fellow

Author of eight (8) CRE textbooks published by BOMA International (all translated into Mandarin):

• Acquisitions, Dispositions & Underwriting textbook
• Measuring Financial Returns textbook
• Lease Analysis, Evaluation, Negotiation, and Approval textbook
• Foundations of Real Estate Management textbook
• BOMA International Proactive Maintenance Guidebook for Industrial Properties
• Managing Industrial Properties
• Guide to Developing a Standard Operating Procedure Manual
• BOMA International Guide to Exterior Maintenance Manual

View InpiRE CRE, LLC's Consulting Profile.

Jeffrey S. Lapin, CPM, ARM, DREI, is an expert in maintenance and management procedures and reasonable standards of care for commercial and residential properties including multifamily properties and HOA's. He has been directly involved in Real Estate Management, Leasing and Construction for over 40 years. 

Mr. Lapin is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) and an Accredited Residentlal Manager (ARM), certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®), a California licensed Real Estate Broker and a Tennessee licensed Affiliate Broker. Mr. Lapin is a certified instructor for IREM® and is a co-author of IREM's Maintenance and Risk Management Course. Mr. Lapin teaches for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA®) and is a Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI). Mr. Lapin teaches courses for these prestigious international property associations, including courses required by IREM® and by BOMA® for the respective professional accreditations they offer, centered around construction and maintenance topics. He also served as President of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®) Chapter 22 in Sacramento, California in 2016. 

Mr. Lapin specializes in Standards of Care for Landlords, Property Maintenance and Inspection Procedures, Management Policies and Procedures, and Asset Value Protection. His background includes roles with institutional landlords including TIAA CREF, MetLife, The New England Life Insurance Company, and Principal Mutual Life, as well as a diverse group of private property owners. His experience is in managing and leasing all types of property including commercial and multi-family residential, industrial, office, and retail real estate assets. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Lapin provides expert witness services on Commercial and Residential Real Estate Standards of Practice. His cases involve injuries, personal and financial, that occur as a result of an alleged failure by a commercial landlord to follow reasonable standards of care, for either the landlord or a non-landlord plaintiff's counsel. 

Areas of Expertise:

Commercial and Residential Real Estate Standards of Care Real Estate Financial Injury Policies and Procedures for Inspection and Maintenance Property Operations Property Management

Risk Mitigation Expense Management Slip and Fall Trip and Fall Gross Negligence

View Jeffery Lapin's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Tony Nettleman is a Land Surveying Engineer and Attorney who has been practicing for over 20 years. He holds a BS, MS and PhD in geomatics as well as a law degree. He is licensed in twelve states as a Professional Surveyor and is also a licensed attorney. 

Litigation Support - Tony has helped over 100 clients understand their land surveying and/or property dispute issues. He has testified in depositions and trials over a dozen times throughout that period to help judges and juries better understand what's expected of a Professional Land Surveyor. Whether your dispute is in Florida or Texas, New York or California, Tony travels across the country to conduct surveys, help the clients understand the substantive surveying issues, and resolve the surveying matter at hand.

Areas of Expertise:

Easements Land / Water Boundaries Land Title / Deeds Real Property Attorney Standard of Care

Surveyor Negligence Riparian Allocations of Ownership and Use Dock Surveys Unmanned Aerial Systems

Tony Nettleman on Land Surveyor Negligence

Dr. Nettleman has held distinguished professorships at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Troy University. He is currently the Director of the Nettleman Institute of Surveying Engineering Technology, the President of Nettleman Land Consultants, and the President of NLC Test Prep. He is the author of Clark on Surveying, a co-author of Brown’s Boundary Control and Evidence & Procedures for Boundary Location, teaches college courses, and helps hundreds of land surveyors become licensed each year.

Petru Corporation is a full service land consulting company offering a full line of Title, Natural Resources, and Land services.

Incorporated in 1986, Petru serves the needs of the title, title insurance, oil, gas, mineral, geothermal, wind, solar, mining, environmental, and right-of-way industries; legal, engineering, subdivision, developers, and land planning professions; government; lending and trust institutions; water purveyors; utilities; real estate companies; and the individual and business communities.

Petru Corporation and Tim Truwe were featured on Enterprises TV, aired on Fox Business Network and were published in Black Gold in California, the story of the California Petroleum Industry and also in The Business Elite, Corporate America.

Consulting Services:

Title Consulting Title Searching Title Examining Title Reports Title Engineering Title Insurance Plot Descriptions and Easements Map Drafting and Map Review Property Inspections Right of Way/Easements Water Rights

Leasehold Estates Oil, Gas, Mineral and Mining Consulting Subdivision Map Act Negotiate Oil and Gas Leases Regulatory Consulting Permitting/Regulatory Title Insurance Underwriting Support Title Insurance Claims Due Diligence Acquisitions and Divestitures Mining Claims

Timothy B. Truwe, President and Chief Financial Officer of Petru Corporation, is a Registered Professional Landman (#23542) and a Registered Environmental Property Assessor (#569045). He specializes in Title, Natural Resources and Land Matters issues and offers a full line of title, and land services.

Background - Mr. Truwe started his career in 1973 in the title, resource, and regulatory industries. His career includes employment and training at Ticor Title Insurance Company (now Chicago Title Co.) as Title Searcher, Title Officer, and Title Engineer. He also worked at Ogle Petroleum Inc., as Assistant Land Manager in the Land/Legal Department. His responsibilities at Ogle included both onshore and offshore assets and the technical and administrative oversight of several thousand parcels of land and leases in excess of one million acres.

Christopher Hanson, JD, CCIM, has over 44 years of experience in the Real Estate Industry. A retired trial lawyer of over 25 years who's dealt exclusively with real estate cases, Mr. Hanson currently provides subject matter expertise in all areas of real estate litigation.
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Background Experience - As a California real estate trial attorney, Mr. Hanson has participated in over 880 Trials, Arbitrations, and Mediations (only 3 UDs). Cases have included negligence, fraud, non-disclosure, breaches of fiduciary duty, and contract. He's defended and sued brokers and their insurance companies. He has represented bidders, borrowers, and banks in regard to foreclosures; and both sides in loan workouts, and worked with national chains doing state-wide store rollouts, and lease renegotiations.  

Prior to his time as an attorney, Mr. Hanson worked for 12+/- years as a Real Estate Broker, actively selling and leasing property (commercial and residential). He holds a CCIM designation, earned by doing deals.  Before his role as a broker, he spent 7+/- years as a title insurance company Advisory Title Officer, where he researched and wrote Preliminary Reports.

Litigation Support - Mr. Hanson offers a balanced and unbiased opinion. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include document review, depositions, and discovery, along with arbitration and mediation. His opinion takes into account all the technicalities and nuances of real estate along with his 4 decades of experience, and is delivered in a way a jury can easily understand. 

Areas of Expertise:

Real Estate Standard of Care Boundary Disputes Easements Breaches of Fiduciary Duty or Contract Real Estate Non Disclosure Lease Negotiations

Real Estate Fraud Partition Negligence Title Insurance Foreclosures Loan Workouts

Paul Chandler, MAI, has over 30 years of experience as an MAI Designated Real Estate Appraiser and CEO of Property Sciences, a national Residential and Commercial real estate appraisal company.

Both the company's residential and commercial divisions continually benefit from Mr. Chandler's background in valuation, appraisal, lender-platform technology development, and online and print media. Prior to forming Property Sciences, he was Senior Vice President of Corinthian Real Estate, where he provided financial institutions with market analysis, branching strategy and site acquisition consulting.

Litigation Support - Mr. Chandler has extensive experience presenting and defending its expert conclusions and opinions in depositions and trial testimony.  He offers support from early case assessment and discovery through final resolution, relying on real-world strategic and operational experience, strong academic and professional credentials, and extensive practical knowledge of real estate customs and practices, and damages analysis.

Areas of Expertise:

Eminent Domain Environmental Contamination Structural Defects Partnership Dissolution Bankruptcy Proceedings

Market Resistance / Stigma Damages for: Landslides Fires Floods Contamination / External Detriments

Services:

• Advice and objective analyses leading to an improved understanding of the issues involved in a case and supply expert testimony about critical issues in the litigation
• Testimony concerning industry standards, customs and practices in order to evaluate the legal liability of the parties
• Forensics analysis to ascertain the facts and determine the historic context of the disputed issues
• Computation of economic effects to provide a court with an objective measure of value and damages, if any
• Advice to counsel including the evaluation of the arguments of opposing experts, assisting with the development of lines of questioning or specific questions for use in expert or percipient witness depositions and serving as real-time advisors to counsel to evaluate the responses of deponents during live deposition testimony
• Trial support services, including jury consulting, graphic design of courtroom visuals and technology support