Testifying real estate expert witness Craig Cherney recently assisted Robert Willis, Esq. of Burdman Willis (Phoenix, AZ) secure a multimillion dollar arbitration award in favor of a large group of new home buyers who pooled their claims against a publicly traded homebuilder for failure to disclose material defects when purchasing their new homes.
Multimillion Dollar Arbitration Award for Group of Home Buyers
In this case, the homebuilder had actual knowledge that a contiguous roadway to the new subdivision would have to be widened, placed closer to the rear yards of the new homebuyer lots, and the vertical elevation of the road way would be elevated up to 8 feet higher than the existing conditions of the roadway at the time the homebuyers reserved their vacant lots for home construction.
Mr. Cherney, a real estate expert witness and former land acquisition manager from another public homebuilder, provided expert testimony on the standards of care otherwise expected of licensed real estate professionals representing the homebuilder at the time of each vacant lot's sale. Because the homebuilder had actual knowledge that the contiguous roadway would be widened, placed closer to each lot's rear lot line, and elevated in some cases above the rear yard privacy walls— the homebuilder sales people had a mandatory duty to disclose these material defects about the lots at the time of each vacant lot sale to each homeowner.
Because the homebuilder remained silent about the defects, and because the new homebuyers relied on the existing roadway conditions at the time of each purchase, the arbitration panel determined that the homebuilder breached duties and standards of care otherwise owed to home purchasers by licensed real estate professionals.
Mr. Cherney's testimony was a critical component in educating the trier of fact on the standards of care expected of licensed real estate professionals, and how the professionals in this case breached those standards, leading to liability and a large award in plaintiffs' favor.
