Real Estate and Construction
Representative cases:
COURT APPOINTED RECEIVER - Court appointed Receiver for debtor company where significant real estate assets were transferred to related party LLCs in an effort to evade the collection of a judgment debt. Creditor was able to collect more than $1 million shortly after the appointment.
OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL - Consulting expert for dispute over the ownership, control, financing, and development of multiple real estate parcels and development projects held in limited liability companies. Required significant public records research. Issues included the denial of rights to LLC members, the creation of alter egos to conceal ownership and control, the reporting of cash distributions on partnership tax returns without distributing cash to pay the taxes, and using joint assets as separate collateral. Case settled.
FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES - Consulting expert for defense of real estate foreclosure executive sued by a competitor for making alleged defamatory statements. Investigation led to the discovery of transfers of real estate to "alter egos" outside the reach of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The transfers were documented in detail with supporting public records and submitted to the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee for Arizona as a series of transactions not properly disclosed to the court. Case settled.
ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL - Retained as expert witness by AAG for a civil complaint against a real estate developer for alleged acts regarding the development and use of real property located in Pinal County, Arizona. Relied on claimed v. actual use of property for property tax calculation purposes to support AAG allegations. Case settled.
CONSTRUCTION BONDS - Consulting expert for insurance surety who issued performance bonds to a general contractor who abandoned multiple construction sites. Prepared digest of contractor's deteriorating financial condition and disclosed but substantial departures from generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) based on independent accountant's reviewed reports. The contractor, who failed to pay subcontractors and vendors, filed for U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection.
SURETY BOND CLAIMS - Consultant to named expert for insurance surety involved in dispute with real estate developer related to bonding premiums and bond claims received. Traced dozens of asset transfers using assessor, recorder, other public records. Documented violations of the Nevada Unified Fraudulent Transfers Act in excess of $150 million. Prepared a summarized abstract of the formal detailed report for insurance company executives and their counsel, opposing parties, and the Court.
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT DISPUTE - Consulting expert for litigation by a private party related to over payments for the construction of their large custom home. Analyzed the construction budget against actual periodic bank draws and traced owner and construction lender payments to the licensed contractor.
PROPERTY FLIPPING - Expert for Wife in divorce proceeding. Traced the purchase and sale of numerous pieces of Arizona real property, some of which was not properly disclosed to the court during divorce proceedings. Case settled.
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR - Expert for Wife during divorce proceeding. Examined the business records of construction contractor Husband to determine if community assets had been diverted prior to settlement mediation. Reviewed reported revenues for several years. Traced employee payroll records to verify the reporting of all projects. Compared reported expenses across several years as a test of reasonableness. Nothing exceptional noted. A formal written report not required. Case settled.