Perhaps you remember the headlines? 

California Appraiser Sues WAMU, First American, eAppraiseIT, and LSI - Refused to check "Stable"

It was about Jeniffer Wertz, a California licensed real estate appraiser, who filed a 12 count lawsuit against Washington Mutual Bank, First American Corp., eAppraiseIT, Lenders Services (LSI), FNIS, Inc, and Susan Richter.

Appraisal Scoop has learned from Jeniffer Wertz that . . .

"The case has been settled to mutual satisfaction of the parties."

As is usually the case in these instances, that's about ALL that any of the parties can say.  I'm guessing that the amount of settlement and the terms of the agreement will be sealed by the court.  Still, I view this as victory for the "little guy" (or girl) and offer my kudos to Jeniffer for standing up for ALL of us!

I've abstrated and edited portions of the original lawsuit for ease of reading on this blog.  The complete, un-edited document, can be downloaded here: Download WertzPrimarySuit.pdf 

Related News Stories:

• 1/17/08: Money Magazine: WaMu Accused Of Appraisal Fraud
• 1/22/08: WaMu Continues To Take Its Lumps on Appraisal Practices

Author: Brian J. Davis - Brian Davis & Associates - Brian has over 24 years of appraisal experience in Central, IL and hosts the Appraisal Scoop blog and the WinTOTAL Users Group an email forum for appraisers