Real Estate: Commercial Expert Witnesses: 26

Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, ACoM, RPA, PCAM, CCAM, GRI, ARM, has over 40 years of specialized experience in the field of Real Estate Management. He is currently active as a day-to-day hands-on, licensed practitioner, consultant, and expert witness in all aspects of real estate (except valuation). A 3-time graduate of the distinguished Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California with a BS ('81), MBA ('86) and MSBA (2nd Masters) ('88) in real estate and related disciplines, Mr. Griswold is a recognized expert on management of all types of residential real estate. He has actively managed over 70,000 residential units and several million square feet of commercial, industrial, self-storage and retail properties nationally. He has extensive experience as a court-appointed receiver (over 200 times) for private lenders and major financial institutions. 

Litigation Support - In the last 40+ years, Mr. Griswold has consulted on over 4,000 litigation matters, has been deposed over 700 times, and provided sworn testimony in trial or arbitration on over 200 occasions in both state and federal litigation matters throughout the United States. Also serving as a court-appointed bankruptcy Custodian and Referee, his casework is very evenly divided between plaintiff and defense work. Mr. Griswold is uniquely qualified to opine on real estate-related litigation matters, having authored or co-authored the 12 best-selling real estate books: Real Estate Investing For Dummies, Property Management Kit For Dummies; Mortgage Management for Dummies, and Landlord's Legal Kit For Dummies. His 15+ years as an On-Air NBC-TV Real Estate Expert and a similar tenure as a major radio station weekly talk show host have prepared him to explain complicated matters at an 8th grade level and present convincing opinions to juries. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Robert Griswold's Consulting Profile.

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:

View James Cantrell'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:

" WHO IS AN EXPERT?
ONE WHO HAS ACQUIRED COMPREHENSIVE SPECIFIC EDUCATION,
ADVANCED AND CONTINUING TRAINING, AND EXTENSIVE SPECIFIC
EXPERIENCE TO GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE AND AUTHORITATIVE ABILITIES
REPRESENTING THE MASTERY OF THE SPECIFIC FIELD AND OF THE SUBJECT."

Nation Wide and International Expertise.

Timothy G. Galarnyk: Educated in Construction and Safety.  Continued Training in Construction and Safety. More than 45 Years of HANDS-ON Field Experience. Actively involved in construction since 1976. Equipment operator, member of International Union of Operating Engineers since 2004, Certified by ATSSA in Construction Work Zone Traffic Control - MUTCD since 1988. More than 1,000 Incidents Independently Investigated. 

Traffic Crashes in Construction Work Zones - Related to MUTCD Compliance. CERTIFIED by ATSSA in Work Zone Traffic Control since 1988. 

Construction Risk Management, Inc., is a corporation with experts in construction safety, structure collapses, construction means and methods, and construction work zone traffic control.  Investigation focuses on:

Bridges, Buildings, Residential, Industrial, Commercial, High-Rises, Marine, Highways, Underground, Water, General and Subcontractor Issues

Litigation Support - We conduct Forensic Investigations of Construction Accidents / Injuries / Deaths to establish the Cause. What happened? How did it happen? Where and When did it happen? Why did it happen? Who is Responsible? Depositions and Trial Experienced. State and Federal Courts. Defense and Plaintiff - Makes no difference as the case facts and evidence rules. 

Areas of Expertise (include but not limited to):

Joe Scerbo is a distinguished expert witness, construction consultant, and construction management advisor with over 36 years of experience in the construction industry. As a licensed General, Electrical, and HVAC Contractor in California for 25 years, Mr. Scerbo has cultivated specialized expertise in Building Envelope, Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) systems. His extensive background includes significant experience in mechanical systems, heating & cooling systems, ventilation, solar energy systems, battery energy storage systems (BESS), generators, and design-build projects.

Litigation Support - Mr. Scerbo and his team at Danliv provide comprehensive forensic consulting and litigation support services for all things related to Construction Defects, Standard of Care Issues, Non-conforming of Contractors Licensing Laws, and Cost of Repairs. Serving defense and plaintiff attorneys, insurance companies, and government agencies across the United States. Mr. Scerbo has been disclosed as a designated expert on numerous cases and consulted on over thirty cases for advice as well as field investigations, document evidence evaluation, and material findings. 

Areas of Expertise:

Mr. Scerbo brings extensive expertise across multiple sectors, including single-family, multifamily, hospitality, commercial construction, renewable energy, and utility-scale infrastructure projects. Well-versed in framing, flashing, metal and composite roofing, concrete, exterior cladding systems such as Portland Cement Stucco, underground construction, MEP issues and opines on standard of care for contractors, construction managers, inspection companies and specialty sub-contractor services. He has hired and supervised engineering and design teams for Design-Build projects and Construction Defect cases, ensuring precision and compliance.

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: 

View Bedrock Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

Steven M. Murow has over 45 years of experience in the Land Development and Construction industry with expertise in Earthmoving, Site Development, Street Improvements, and Underground Utilities. 

During that time, Mr. Murow has served as a principal in two leading contracting firms; consultant to major land developers; specifier and bid administrator; senior project manager, and as an expert witness. 

Litigation Support - Over the past 20 years, Mr. Murow has supported developers, municipalities, builders, and contractors through their legal teams. He has a perspective on general engineering contracting unmatched by opposing experts in the field having been involved in the bidding of over 2,000 projects since 1978 and managing over 300 of those projects in the mass grading and site development arena as a principal owner of the firm. Mr. Murow has been deposed 70 times and testified in trial / arbitration 34 times. His expertise has been called upon in Dallas, Texas, Conway, Ark. and throughout California.

Areas of Expertise:

"DIRT, not civil engineering or geotechnical, but as a general engineering contractor performing the work and as a Construction Manager managing the work on projects up to 1,200 Acres and $50,000,000 in value. I can tell you how it was bid, should have been bid, where it went wrong, and cost to repair." - Steven M. Murow

Frank S. Ferrantello, PLS, is a New York State Licensed Land Surveyor with over 20 years of experience in Surveying, Civil Engineering, and Land Use Planning. Both his field and office Work experience have dealt with a wide range of projects and sites including residential single, multifamily, high rise municipal, utility, private and public, commercial, and industrial. Prior to and post college, 

Mr. Ferrantello worked for the firm of John P. Ferrantello PC from 1998 to 2010 and MJM engineering from 2008 to 2016. His duties consisted of performing office and field surveying, drafting, research, computations, boundary analysis, solutions, investigations and determinations. 

Mr. Ferrantello also has extensive experience in Site Planning and Subdivision Consulting, examining title records, deeds and other recorded documents such as ingress and egress, pedestrian easements, right of ways, air and development rights, vista easements, bridle paths, beach, bathing and mooring rights, covenants and restrictions, real property, zoning, and other land use principles. 

Litigation Support - A mapping professional, Frank S. Ferrantello will enhancing your case, whether it is a vehicular accident, tree collision, wrongful death, adverse possession, extreme error, or misconduct surveys and maps. He has extensive knowledge of the local Long Island zoning codes, site planning and subdivision regulations. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant, insurance companies, and experienced developers. 

Legal Services:

Areas of Expertise:

View Frank S. Ferrantello's Consulting Profile.

Andrew Allocco, PE, is a leading Construction Consultant, Florida Certified Contractor, Florida Licensed Public Insurance Adjuster and Real Estate Broker. With over 45 years of experience in his fields of expertise, Mr. Allocco's services are sought by individuals, corporations, developers, and law firms to oversee and advise on construction projects. He is the current owner of construction, real estate, and engineering consulting firms.

Background Experience - Mr. Allocco is the President of Indian River Construction Services, Inc. Prior to his current role, he served as the President of Better Homes Construction Services, Inc. of Miami, Florida, which performed in excess of 40,000 Building Inspections. As a Forensic Consulting Engineer, he inspects Commercial, Residential, and Industrial Facilities before, during, and after construction. He assists property owners with complex insurance claims, some of which involve significant and lengthy litigation

Mr. Allocco is not only licensed in the State of Florida as a Professional Engineer and Licensed Public Insurance Adjuster, he holds more Florida certified contractor licenses both presently active and past than any other individual in the State

Litigation Support - Since the early 1970s, Andrew Allocco has been an Expert Witness in many court and arbitration cases involving disputes between owners, builders, contractors, and architects. He has extensive knowledge of the court litigation process and has assisted law firms in providing facts and questions to be used during depositions and discovery motions. Mr. Allocco's services include inspection reports on the status of the property, depositions, trial testimony, arbitration, and mediation hearings.

Areas of Expertise:

Insurance Litigation and Structural Consulting - Mr. Allocco is also called upon by insurance companies and attorneys representing property owners to help adjusters evaluate loss. He has been retained to investigate the cause of structural failures, determine the extent of the structural damage, develop subrogation information, prepare the scope of repair, develop a repair design, draft specifications, and more. Mr. Allocco also has experience with code upgrades and notice of dangerous conditions, including hurricanes such as Hurricane Andrew.

View Andrew Allocco's Consulting Profile.

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

Marc Fischer is an internationally 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. 

As an expert witness, Marc helps uncover the truth in complex real estate-related cases. Marc is well-known in the CRE community as a thought leader. He deeply understands CRE operations and the role of exceptional real estate management in optimizing asset value. As a highly skilled facilitator and instructor, he has the unique ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and concisely to legal professionals, judges, juries, and the general public.

He is recognized for thorough expert witness reports and straightforward testimony in depositions and trials. He supports both plaintiff and defendant counsels in various real estate-related issues, including:

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
• M.Ed. in Adult Education & Training (a highly valuable background for explaining complex concepts to judges and juries)

Industry Designations:

• Real Property Administrator (RPA®)
• Certified Property Manager (CPM®) 
• Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM®)
• 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 INSPIRE CRE, LLC's Consulting Profile.

Jay Hibert was in the Commercial Banking Industry for over 25 years before leaving to form his own company, a real estate lending and consulting company. The company provides services to banks, non-banks, and individuals in need of creative financing solutions.  Still an ACTIVE lender in the industry, Jay stays updated on current customs and practices and has transacted hundreds of real estate and non-real estate loan negotiations in times of economic growth as well as downturns in the economy. His extensive credit background arms him with the understanding of how banks and other lenders operate internally.  

Litigation Experience - Mr. Hibert has been providing expert witness and consulting services since 2010. He has been designated over 250 times as an expert in 25 different states concerning matters relating to commercial lending, real estate, construction finance, SBA loans, brokerage, hard money loan expert and investment issues. His experience includes both Federal and State court cases where he has provided deposition testimony, trial testimony and arbitration testimony. 

Jay is a licensed Real Estate Broker (Cal DRE #01523) and for 10 years his company was a California Finance Lender and Broker through the California Department of Business Oversight. He is experienced in trial and deposition testimony and his services are available to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. 

Key areas of expertise in litigation work include:

• SBA Real Estate Loans
• Hard Money Loans
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice/Lender Liability
• Broker Standards of Care and Fiduciary Responsibility
• Loan Underwriting and Credit Administration
• Loan Process and Bank Loan Restructure/Workout Process
• Note Valuations/Collateral Review
• Litigation and Discovery Consulting
• Banking Operations/Administration
• Expert reports adherent to Federal Rule 26
• Hard Money Lending
• SBA Lending
• Loan Syndication/Secondary Market Loan Sales
• Title Insurance Cases
• Private Money Lending
• Predatory Lending
• Financial Elder Abuse
• Covid Related Finance Issues

*****Experienced in trial and deposition testimony*****

View Jay Hibert'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 multifamily properties. He has been directly involved in Property Management, Leasing and Construction for over 40 years. 

Mr. Lapin is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) and an Accredited Residential Manager (ARM), certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®). Mr. Lapin is a certified instructor for IREM® and is a co-author of IREM's Maintenance and Risk Management Course (MNT 401). 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 inspection 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 Standard of Care for Landlords, Property Maintenance and Inspection Procedures, Management Policies and Procedures, and Asset Value Protection. His background includes roles with 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 or multifamily landlord to follow reasonable standards of care and industry standard practices.

Areas of Expertise:

View Jeffery Lapin's Consulting Profile.

Attorney, Lawrence H. Jacobson, has been practicing in the area of Real Estate Transaction Law and Litigation for more than 50 years. Over the past 30 years, he has been sought out as an expert witness in real estate and legal malpractice disputes and lawsuits in litigation cases throughout the country. 

His firm, The Law Offices of Lawrence H. Jacobson, A Professional Corporation, is recognized as one of the nation's premier offices providing expert testimony in litigation involving all Real Estate Matters and Legal Malpractice. 

Mr. Jacobson has been engaged in the practice of law in Los Angeles since 1968. Formerly Vice President of Legal Affairs for the California Association of Realtors, Mr. Jacobson has served as a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Municipal Court Systems and as an adjunct professor of law focusing on real estate secured transactions and administrative law. He is Past President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. He has written and lectured extensively on business and real estate related matters. He has served on the faculty of the Graduate Realtors Institute of the California Association of Realtors and a lecturer author for the California Continuing Education of the California Bar.

Litigation Support - Mr. Jacobson offers an impressive record of success as an expert witness in real estate, business, and finance. Included among the numerous cases in which he has testified as an expert witness are disputes over the interpretation of real estate documents, real estate and mortgage brokers’ standard of care and legal malpractice related to real estate transactions and business law including issues involved in corporate finance, merger and acquisition and ethics.

Areas of Expertise:

View Lawrence Jacobson's Consulting Profile.

Larry Lowenthal is a nationally recognized Real Estate Expert Witness who has been retained by dozens of attorneys across the United States since 2003 to analyze failed or troubled real estate transactions. 

Based in North Central Florida, he is also retained to help with substantial commission or fee disputes.

Insurance Defense attorneys retain Larry when their broker clients are charged, while plaintiffs and their attorneys retain him when charging real estate brokers with improper conduct. 

Dennis Gemberling, CHA, CFBE, FMP, FCSI, President and Founder of Perry Group International, has over 35 years of experience in the Hospitality Management industry. His experience includes managing, operating, and consulting on full-service, limited-service, extended-stay, all-suite, condo and timeshare hotels and resorts, casual, fine-dining, and quick-service restaurants, bars and nightclubs, catering and special event facilities, casinos, and mixed-use real estate. 

Mr. Gemberling has held prior positions for different owners, operators, and chains as Senior Vice President, General Manager, Director of Food & Beverage, and Restaurant Unit Manager. He has been retained on over 400 projects with typical values in the $1 million to $75 million range and revenues in the $1 million to $100 million range both nationally and internationally. His many clients have include among others Biscuits & Blues, Cantina’s, Chevy’s, Choice Hotels, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns, Hilton, Holiday Inns, Hooter’s Casino, Hyatt, Marriott, McDonald’s, Microtel Inn & Suites, Outback Restaurants, Radisson, Residence Inns, Signature Resort, Sizzler, Sonic Drive-Ins, Starbucks, Starwood, Sheraton, Togo’s, Wendy’s, and Willie Mays Skybox Lounge. 

Litigation Support: Dennis Gemberling is a Certified Hotel Administrator, Certified Food and Beverage Executive, Certified Foodservice Management Professional, and Certified Food Safety Manager. He offers expert witness services to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant cases on a variety of Hospitality-related claims. He is a Professional Member of Foodservice Consultants Society International and the Forensic Expert Witness Association. Mr. Gemberling also provides expertise as a Court Appointed Receiver and Interim Property Manager and is currently the Past President and a Board of Director for the California Receivers Forum – Bay Area Chapter. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Dennis Gemberling's Consulting Profile.