Premises Liability Consultants: 24

Griswold Real Estate Management has been dedicated to providing superior Property Management, Receivership, and Expert Witness Services for over 30 years. With offices in Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles, they serve southern Nevada and all five southern California counties. Properties include single family homes, condominiums, apartment communities, homeowners associations, commercial and retail space, and self storage facilities. Griswold Real Estate Management has been awarded the Accredited Management Organization (AMO®) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM). Across the country, less than 5% of all management firms have earned this distinction, by fulfilling the most stringent requirements in expertise, education, integrity, and financial stability. 

Property Management Services:

Principal, Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, ACoM, RPA, PCAM, CCAM, GRI, ARM, is currently active as a day-to-day hands-on, licensed practitioner, consultant, and expert witness in all aspects of real estate (except valuation). A 3-time graduate of the distinguished Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California with a BS ('81), MBA ('86), and MSBA (2nd Masters) ('88) in real estate and related disciplines, Mr. Griswold is a recognized expert on management of all types of residential real estate. He has actively managed over 70,000 residential units and several million square feet of commercial, industrial, self-storage, and retail properties nationally in the last 40+ years. He has extensive experience as a court-appointed receiver (over 200 times) for private lenders and major financial institutions. 

Litigation Support - In the last 30+ years, Mr. Griswold has consulted on over 4,000 litigation matters, been deposed over 750 times, and provided sworn testimony in trial or arbitration on over 200 occasions in both state and federal litigation matters throughout the United States. Also serving as a court-appointed bankruptcy Custodian and Referee, his casework is very evenly divided between plaintiff and defense work. Mr. Griswold is uniquely qualified to opine on real estate-related litigation matters, having authored or co-authored the 9 best selling real estate books: Real Estate Investing For Dummies, Property Management Kit For Dummies; Mortgage Management for Dummies and Landlord's Legal Kit For Dummies. His 15+ years as an On-Air NBC-TV Real Estate Expert and a similar tenure as a major radio station weekly talk show host have prepared him to explain complicated matters at an 8th-grade level and persuasively present opinions to juries.

Author - Robert Griswold is the author of the nationally best-selling book on real estate management, Property Management Kit For Dummies, which has sold over 100,000 copies in less than 5 years. He also co-authored Real Estate Investing For Dummies, another bestseller in the category with nearly 100,000 copies sold, and Landlord's Legal Kit For Dummies. 

 View Robert Griswold's Expert Witness Profile.

911 Consulting specializes in Emergency Preparedness, Training, Drills and Exercises for corporations, campuses and medical facilities. 911 Consulting offers practical solutions for preventing likely incidents, preparing for emergencies, responding to a crisis, and resuming operations. They create a custom emergency plan, train personnel, and stage drills for readiness.

Bo Mitchell was Police Commissioner of Wilton, CT for 16 years. He retired to found 911 Consulting which creates emergency, disaster recovery, business continuity, crisis communications and pandemic plans, plus training and exercise for organizations like GE HQ, Hyatt HQ, MasterCard HQ, five colleges and universities plus 29 PreK-12 schools.

Bo serves clients headquartered from Boston to LA working in their facilities from London to San Francisco. He has earned 23 certifications in homeland security, emergency management, disaster recovery, business continuity, safety and security. Mission: Trying to make America safer one workplace at a time.

Litigation Support - Bo serves as an expert in landmark court cases nationally.  He provides expert witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defense, including thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise: 

Professional Designations: CEM, CPP, CHS-V, CBCP, CSI-ML, HSEEP, CSSAS, CNTA, IAC, MOAB, CHSP, CHEP, CSHM, CESCO, CHCM, CFC, CSSM, CSC, CAS, TFCT3, CERT, CHSEMR, CMC

Dr. Randall Atlas AIA , CPP is a Registered Architect, NCARB certified, and he practices Criminal Justice Architecture and Environmental Security Design. Atlas is a certified protection professional (CPP) with the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS), and is an appointed member of the ASIS Security Architecture and Engineering Committee. Atlas has his doctorate in criminology and a masters of architecture. Dr Atlas is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture for Justice Committee.

Dr. Atlas has taught CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) and criminal justice courses at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Miami, Keiser University, and he is a trainer with the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville. Dr. Atlas has been a technical Assistance consultant with the National Institute of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, and the Florida Department of Corrections and U.S. HUD Drug Elimination CPTED Program.

He has conducted ADA accessibility compliance audits for private and public sector clients, and served as an expert witness on over 200 premises liability lawsuits.

Dr. Atlas has been a speaker and trainer at security conferences from New Delhi, India to Seattle, Washington and has written over 200 articles in various publications on security, safety, and counter terrorism issues.

Bedrock Investments Group (BIG) acquires undervalued, strategically located single-tenant net-leased properties that deliver predictable cash flow to our partners. Their streamlined Commercial Real Estate Acquisition Process and in-depth Due Diligence result in noteworthy investment opportunities. BIG's conservative, disciplined approach results in investment performance that provides for consistent cash flow and equity growth. BIG has an exceptional track record of delivering cash flow at above-market rates without burdening their properties with debt. 

The team at BIG identifies undervalued net leased properties throughout the U.S. that have solid fundamentals and creditworthy tenants. They acquire and hold these freestanding, single-tenant net leased (STNL) properties as long-term investments. Typical sellers include estates, partnerships in dissolution, lender REOs, and investors facing less than three-year lease terms 

Strategies:

• Complete due diligence and acquisition thoroughly and quickly, thereby ensuring the seller of a timely transaction
• Centralize the decision-making process by eliminating the need for many layers of approval
• Evaluate worst-case scenarios
• Provide hands-on, active property management at competitive rates

Dr. Dick Bridy, a Principal at BIG, brings over 40 years of broad experience in Commercial Real Estate Acquisitions and Development to the firm. He is the entrepreneurial founder and CEO of DBI Group, a boutique real estate firm specializing in commercial retail centers and single-tenant properties. 

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Bridy developed expertise in team brokerage, leasing, private equity funding, construction, and asset management. From the ground up, he and his team entitled and built two shopping centers and five single-tenant properties. In addition, he has supervised the redevelopment of over 3.5 million sq. ft. of gross leasable area in 14 shopping centers. Through extensive research, market valuation, physical inspection, and financial analysis, Dr. Bridy targets ideal properties with maximum economic potential for Bedrock’s portfolio.  

View Dr. Dick Bridy's Expert Witness Profile.

Mr. Beringer is the Principal of Beringer & Associates (B&A) and Liability Program Management (LPM). These Firms provide business liability program management, including analysis of current risk exposures involving Labor Code, Safety, and Regulatory exposures, litigation management, Workers' Compensation analysis, analysis of insurance conduct, analysis of risk exposure for self-retentions, and insurance contracts.  

Mr. Beringer, as their Liability Claims Manager, was responsible for various Joint Powers Authority organizations (including ICRMA, BICEP, PERMA, and ERMA). The membership included thirty-eight individual cities in Los Angeles County, Riverside County, and Orange County for administering and resolving their Joint Power program's liabilities. 

He also created litigation controls, risk retention mechanisms, and modified their Memorandums of Coverage for BICEP and ICRMA. Mr. Beringer has also provided talent for successfully overseeing Government Code matters, including dangerous conditions, FEHA/DFEH, excessive force, and Civil Rights violations on behalf of Joint Authorities. 

Responsibilities included significant case handling for exposures more than the client's self-insured retention through various levels of reinsurance in the United States/offshore venues up to and inclusive of $50.0 million in an exposure. Since January 2000, the firm has provided risk analysis, insurance coverage and claim handling analysis, and management services to the insurance, construction, and transportation sectors. He has also been engaged to provide analysis of construction defect exposures, including review of risk exposure coverage; Labor Code exposures, including assisting with the administration of prevailing wage in California; to assist with operational concerns, coordination, risk management, Workers' Compensation underwriting, and executive management.

Mr. Beringer has provided expert/consultant services to plaintiff and defendant counsel in insurance coverage, including EPLI, General Liability, Workers’ Compensation, Professional Liability, Reinsurance, D&O, and property coverage. Areas of expertise include claim handling, damage evaluation (personal injury and property damage), professional adjustment standards (via carrier and TPA), and evaluation of attorney fees in Lodestar and FEHA matters. 

Mr. Beringer started in the insurance industry with the Automobile Club of Southern California in 1969, completing his insurance career in 2000.  

James H. Cantrell, CPM® is the President of CANTRELL ASSOCIATES and was President of Cantrell, Harris & Associates, a San Francisco based Real Estate Management and Consulting firm that was formed 30 years ago. Consulting - With decades of Asset and Property Management experience. Mr. Cantrell specializes in the turnaround of properties with Deferred Maintenance and Mismanagement. He has managed a variety of product types. including rent-controlled, apartments, association management, high-rise office, industrial! warehouse properties, retail, and large hotels for both private and institutional investors. His experience has included establishing hands-on management programs that have maximized the values of the various investments. 

Background - James Cantrell began his career with Arlen Realty as a property supervisor, handling properties in the United States Investment Fund Portfolio, and has held the position of Equity Administrator with Clevetrust Realty Investors, responsible for managing numerous properties throughout the Country. He also served as Treasurer of Regency Equities, a Real Estate Investment Trust, traded on NASDQE, and was President of Plaza Equities Management, Inc., with a national portfolio of approximately $275 million of mixed assets under his direction. He currently teaches a number of courses for the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and has taught throughout the United States, in Russia and Poland. He was an Associated Professor at Golden Gate University for 9 years teaching a course in Asset/Property management in the MBA program.

Honors and Awards - Mr. Cantrell served as President of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), San Francisco and has been honored with receiving the IREM SF Instructor of the year in 2001 and 2007. He also received the IREM 2013 Lloyd Hanford, Jr. Distinguished Faculty Award.

Engagements - Mr. Cantrell was engaged as the Featured speaker for the National Facility Management and Technology Conference in Chicago in 2007 and Baltimore in 2008. He was also appointed to the San Francisco Mayors "Building Energy Efficiency Task Force" in 2009.

View James Cantrell's Expert Witness Profile.

CLM Engineering Associates has the ability to provide a vast array of services to real estate brokers, developers, home purchases/owners. President of the firm, Craig L. Moskowitz, PE, is a Civil Engineer with extensive Construction Management experience on both commercial and residential projects. His firm handles commercial and residential building inspections as it pertains to warranty and pre-purchase inspections as well as to handle specific Structural or Civil Engineering issues related to a property. 

Experience: Mr. Moskowitz has performed safety inspections on both civilian and military projects through the application of OSHA regulations. He has designed drainage systems for the government while an officer with the United States military and done cost estimating for various projects exceeding $500 million. 

Mr. Moskowitz has designed document creation and management of high-rise construction in Manhattan. He has managed telecommunications projects for Verizon in Manhattan including CPM schedule creation and updating and directed and managed all water distribution system and sewer system work while working as a contractor to the New York City Department of Design and Construction. CLM are specialists in the following areas:

• Traditional Commercial and Residential Building Inspections
• Storm Damage Assessment, Analysis and Reporting
• Comprehensive Construction Management
• Cost Estimating for Projects Ranging from $50,000 to in Excess of $1 billion
• Construction Scheduling and Delay Analysis
• Building Code and Drawing Review

View Craig Moskowitz's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Ron Martinelli, PhD, CMI-V, is a nationally renowned Forensic Criminologist and a federal/state courts qualified law enforcement and premises liability expert who is also a Certified Medical Investigator (physician's level) and a Certified Suicide Investigator. 

Dr. Martinelli directs the nation's only Forensic Death Investigations & Independent Review Team of 26 law enforcement, forensic and medical experts and specializes in officer-involved death cases, civilian self-defense shooting cases and premises liability/security cases. He is a forensic/law enforcement expert to the U.S. Department of Justice, several State Attorney Generals' Offices, numerous major municipalities and nationally prominent private law firms specializing in wrongful death, civil rights and premises liability. 

Dr. Martinelli is the prevailing expert in over 90% of his retained cases. He has saved defendants over $650M and earned plaintiffs over $290 million in jury verdicts and settlements since 2004. He is the media's go-to forensic expert for FOX News, One America News Network, CNN, HLN, Sky News, BBC, NPR, and the History & Discovery Channels. Dr. Martinelli is skilled in officer-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, crime scene reconstruction, forensics, applied sciences, human factors, psycho-medical emergencies and premises liability and security cases. His unique and extensive field experience, combined his academic and scientific credentials, excellent written reports and persuasive testimony, make him a very appealing expert to attorneys and juries alike.

Areas of Expertise:

• Arrests
• Search & Seizure
• Use of Force / Excessive Force - All Levels and Weaponry
• Officer Involved Shootings(OIS)
• In-Custody Deaths
• Criminal Investigations
• Law Enforcement & Corrections Practices, Training & Supervision
• Adult & Juvenile Corrections
• Law Enforcement Negligence
• Civilian Self-Defense, Premises Liability, Security, Foreseeable Harm
• Insurance Cases
• Human Factors

Gary Deel, Ph.D., J.D. has 10 years of experience in executive-level positions in the hospitality industry and 10 years of experience teaching hospitality management and law curriculum for some of the nation's top hotel schools.

Dr. Deel holds both a Ph.D. in Hospitality and a J.D. in Law, so he understands the nuances of expert witness testimony from the perspective of attorney strategy. He has also worked in a variety of different hospitality industry capacities including operations, sales, security and risk management, training and administration, and others. His services are available to help attorneys make the strongest possible arguments for clients in hospitality-related cases. Dr. Deel offers expert witness services nationwide in the areas of:

Recent Cases:

• Suit against Miami beach resort involving catastrophic injury in the ocean and hotel duty to warn about latent hazards known to hotel and not obvious to visitors (plaintiff).
• Suit against Orlando city center convention hotel involving sexual assault of a minor guest by an employee and hotel duty to monitor employee whereabouts and activities (plaintiff).

Dr. Kevin A. Rider, PhD, PE, CPE of Forensic Human Factors, LLC., providing forensic engineering and specializing in catastrophic motor vehicle collisions, illumination and conspicuity, driver behavior/attention/distraction, workplace safety, machine guarding, slips, trips and falls, and the adequacy of product warnings and instructions. His work focuses on identifying the Human Factors that lead to unfortunate incidents, and what should have been done to prevent them. 

Dr. Rider is a Licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Professional Ergonomist, and has studied human movements and behavior, and served as a human factors consultant since 1999, including five years teaching industrial engineering and occupational safety courses at West Virginia University. He has presented at professional conferences, both nationally and abroad, and his research is published and cited in a number of peer-reviewed journals. He continues to serve as a reviewer for conference and journal manuscripts. 

Dr. Rider has testified over 250 times, and excels at educating attorneys and jurors. His services are available to attorneys for both Plaintiff and Defense. 

Interbrief.org LLC  is one of the nation's most prominent Security Related Premises Liability Consulting firms. With over thirty years of Hospitality and Gaming Asset Protection experience, and ten years of expert witness experience the company is frequently used in advisory capacities for the legal community in addition to local, county, state, and federal agencies. 

Consulting Services:

Principal, Richard M. Santoro, CPP, is an ASIS International board-certified Protection Professional (CPP) and an experienced Hospitality, Resort, Premises Liability Security Expert. He has 3 decades of corporate security experience that includes responsibility for security operations, risk management, executive protection, physical security, CCTV design and operation, investigations, special events, and labor action preparation. 

Mr. Santoro's Training Sessions are tailored in scope and length for targeted or combined levels of operations and management. With a focus on leadership, risk management, security, administration, human resources, operations, and facilities, his audiences include all industries in need of security services.

Credentials:

• 12 Years as an ASIS Board Certified Protection Professional CPP)
• UNLV/DHS Soft Target Terrorism Awareness Instructor
• Graduate of FBI Citizens Academy
• Member of International Homicide Investigators Association

View Rick Santoro's Expert Witness Profile.

Jeffrey S. Lapin, CPM®, has been directly involved in Commercial Real Estate Management, Leasing and Construction for over 40 years. He is recently retired from his position as Vice President of Property Management for a privately held national real estate development firm. 

Consulting - Mr. Lapin provides commercial real estate operations and maintenance expertise to large and small landlords. His background includes roles with institutional landlords including TIAA CREF, MetLife, The New England Life Insurance Company, and Principal Mutual Life, as well as a diverse group of private property owners. His experience is focused on managing, building and leasing all types of property including commercial and multi-family residential, industrial, office, and retail real estate assets. 

Professional Training - Mr. Lapin is an experienced professional trainer specializing in Property Operations, Lease Administration, Cost Recovery, Customer Service, Maintenance Procedures and related topics. Mr. Lapin has conducted over 50 workshops and seminars on these topics. 

Certifications and Instruction - Mr. Lapin is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®), certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®) and a California licensed Real Estate Broker. Mr. Lapin is a certified instructor for IREM® and for the Building Owners and Managers Institute International (BOMI®), teaching courses for these prestigious international property associations, including courses required by IREM® and by BOMI® for the respective professional accreditations they offer, centered around construction and maintenance topics. 

Education - Mr. Lapin holds an undergraduate Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California as well as a Master’s Degree in Business from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management. 

View Jeffrey Lapin's Expert Witness Profile.

Matt Hartley Lighting, LLC combines the Science of Engineering Design to the Art of Illumination. They provide a wide variety of services to the lighting design community, some of which include:

• Lighting Design and Simulation - Produced over 12000 different designs for interior, exterior, roadways, daylighting, and sports lighting facilities
• Manufacturing - Includes both technical marketing services and optical design; creation and management of specification sheets, IES file review and management, fixture testing coordination, certification management of fixtures, BIM modeling, AGI32 instabase management, and competitive analysis of fixtures
• Teaching and Presenting - Provide training for large or small groups in areas including general lighting, photometry, applications, and advanced topics. Past training experience with Lithonia, Lighting Analysts, and Peerless

Principal, Matthew J. Hartley, is a noted expert in Lighting, Lighting Design, Product Development, AGI32, and Photometry He has been in the Lighting Industry for over 24 years. In that time, he has held positions in design, product management, customer service, and design engineering. Mr. Hartley has been employed by manufacturers, lighting software companies, and lighting agencies. He has immersed himself in different facets of the industry including indoor and outdoor lighting, safety and security, lighting and human health, and lighting standards. 

Mr. Hartley has been involved with several standard writing committees within the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, producing over six standard documents. Since 1999, he has taught Lighting and Lighting Design to diverse groups, from students to seasoned lighting professionals, and presented at conferences and seminars on a variety of topics, such as of photometry, design, or IES Documents.

View Matthew Hartley's Expert Witness Profile.

Perry Group International, founded in 1985, provides consulting, interim hotel management and restaurant and hospitality expert services for lodging, food services, resorts, and nightclubs. Their group does work nationally and internationally with new startup, profitable, and under-performing and distressed hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, retail and mixed-use real estate. 

The professionals at Perry Group International serve as third-party asset manager, owners representative, and advisor, for investors and owners. They also act as court appointed receivers and interim hospitality managers for lenders, operators, and their legal and real estate professionals. Clients have included Biscuits & Blues, Cantina’s, Chevy’s, Choice Hotels, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns, Hilton, Holiday Inns, Hooter’s Casino, Hyatt, Marriott, McDonald’s, Microtel Inn & Suites, Outback Restaurants, Radisson, Residence Inns, Signature Resort, Sizzler, Sonic Drive-Ins, Starbucks, Starwood, Sheraton, Togo’s, Wendy’s, and Willie Mays Skybox Lounge among others.

Hospitality Management Consulting:

Hotel Restaurant Nightclub Consulting:

Dennis Gemberling, CHA, CFBE, FMP, FCSI, President and Founder of Perry Group International, has over 35 years of experience in the Hospitality Management industry. His experience includes managing, operating, and consulting on full-service, limited-service, extended-stay, all-suite, condo and timeshare hotels and resorts, casual, fine-dining, and quick-service restaurants, bars and nightclubs, special event facilities, casinos, and mixed-use real estate. 

Mr. Gemberling has held prior positions for different owners, operators, and chains as Senior Vice President, General Manager, Director of Food & Beverage, and Restaurant Unit Manager. He has been retained for over 400 projects with typical values in the $1 million to $75 million range and revenues in the $1 million to $100 million range both nationally and internationally. 

View Dennis Gemberling's Expert Witness Profile.

Trevor A. Sherwood, II, Owner of Pool Operation Management (POM), provides consulting services pertaining to all aspects of Swimming Pool Regulations, Maintenance, and Training. Mr. Sherwood offers services for swimming pool marketing and promotion, safety and health issues, general maintenance, pool troubleshooting, and liability and risk management as well as swimming pool problems and pool-related emergencies. POM has provided professional consulting for commercial aquatic facilities nationwide and as well as a myriad of state-centered advisory committees. They are also winners of the NSPF® Special Achievement and NSPF® Top Instructor awards. Mr. Sherwood and his team at POM provide consulting, training, and services for pools throughout the entire Northeast, the Southeast, Hawaii, Caribbean and South Pacific. Their clients include engineers, maintenance staff, service technicians, property managers, attorneys, health departments and homeowners in the areas of inspections, plan review, contract review, code interpretation, safety requirements, and management issues. Selected Achievements:

• Personally trained over 11,000 Certified Pool Operators® as of 2020.
• Lead instructor for the Northeast Spa and Pool Association to the VGB training team to provide training services on compliance with the Pool and Spa Safety Act to health and building code officials in NJ, PA, CT and NY
• Pool seminars for NJAA, PRPS, NJRPA, NJ ALPHI, NJ DOH
• Only CPO® certification presenter at the Atlantic City Pool and Spa Show, the largest pool trade show in the pool industry annually

View Expert Witness Profile.