Appraisals, Arbitrations and Mediations
Scope and cost of property damage repairs have been the subject of dispute from the beginning of time. Because of our history with scoping, costing, managing and auditing property repairs, Amherst is uniquely qualified to serve as an appraiser, an arbitrator, an umpire and/or as a mediator. In some cases this process is dictated by the terms of an insurance policy and in others this process simply offers a less costly path to resolution than litigation. Amherst is a perfect choice where the dispute is technically driven. We are equally comfortable working for either side and believe our findings would be the same either way. A specific strength is Amherst's knowledge of the statutes, case law and rules governing these three different resolution paths as they are very different and can impact the outcome. Because of this, Amherst has never been a party to an Appraisal or Arbitration where the decision has been overturned. Amherst has been involved in hundreds of these resolutions representing one side or the other, or as the umpire or as an expert witness.
Have questions or need assistance? Contact us now to discuss your project needs with our expert team.
Our Recent Case Studies & Results
Our top priority is to devise customized legal strategies that are tailored to the unique legal needs of our clients, no matter how simple or complicated their situations, might be.
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3.2 Million Hawaii high-rise residential building – fire in one unit
A fire occurred in a residential building in Honolulu destroying the interior of one unit and distributing varying amounts of smoke throughout the remainder of the building. The owner of the building retained the services of Public Adjuster (PA). The PA filed the repair claim on behalf of the owner/insured. The claim included repairs and cleanup but also included numerous code upgrades, the largest of which was replacement of all windows. The PA submitted a letter detailing that, as part of the fire repairs
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Favorable Nevada community development – insurance claim for structural damage
The upscale community development included a total of 14,000 homes. The first 2,000 homes developed cracks in the foundation resulting in slab heaving, structural cracks and out of plumb structural walls, windows, ceilings, etc. The developer submitted an insurance claim for corrective repairs of the 2,000 homes in the amount of $50,000,000.00. The primary insurer paid policy limits for the claim.
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8 Million New York City high-rise condominium building and retail plaza – Superstorm Sandy
The high-rise condominium office building and retail plaza experienced partial flooding in its subterranean parking garage. Located within the floor of the garage were two below grade electrical utility vaults, approximately 7 feet in depth, where multiple horizontal 480-volt power supply feeder cables were spliced together. At the time of the occurrence, this distribution system was de-energized. The vaults were manually pumped out and the distribution system was inspected and re-energized. The distributio
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In Litigation Northern California car dealership – construction defect, new construction
A very centrally located, beautiful 32,000 sq. ft. new car dealership was built in 2016 in northern California. The facility included 13,000 sq. ft. contemporary designed showroom, 13,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art service area and 6,000 sq. ft. of upstairs office area. As soon as the owner took possession of the building, plumbing problems started requiring digging up some of the showroom, first floor office area and service area floors.
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8 Hundred Thousand Northern California High Rise Office Building – Water discharge on Floor 18
Amherst was retained by the insurance company for the 18th Floor Tenant. A piece of equipment used by the tenant was the source of the water discharge. Amherst's scope of work was to audit scope of work and costs claimed for repairs of the 18th Floor, the 17th Floor and the building core, mechanical chase and elevator cars, motors, cables and shafts . Amherst was retained to provide expert opinion as to the scope of work and costs that were found to be fair and reasonable.
