Expert witness and litigation appraisers in Canada

An expert witness gives an opinion within their expertise to help the court, not to advocate for the party paying them. Courts expect that duty of independence to be acknowledged, and a report that reads as argument is easily discredited.

The work usually includes a full appraisal report, often at one or more past dates, a review of the opposing expert’s report, a meeting of experts where the rules call for one, and testimony. Experience giving evidence matters as much as appraisal skill.

When a public authority takes land, owners are generally entitled to market value plus other losses such as disturbance and injurious affection to what remains. The appraisal is central to the claim, and in many provinces the expropriation legislation lets owners recover reasonable appraisal costs.

Partial takings: a strip for a road widening, an easement for a pipeline, are harder than whole takings, because the question is the loss in value to what is left, not just the value of what was taken.

An appraisal review examines another appraiser’s report and says whether its data, method and reasoning support its conclusion. It does not always produce a new value. It is useful when you suspect a report is wrong but do not yet know whether a full second opinion is needed.

The usual weak points are comparables that are not really comparable, adjustments that are asserted rather than supported, the wrong effective date, and assumptions about zoning or use that the facts do not bear out. A review that identifies those precisely gives your lawyer something concrete to cross-examine on.