Real Estate: Finance / Lending / Loans / Mortgages Expert Witnesses: 10

Jack G. Cohen has been involved in the Private Money Lending and  Real Estate Industry for over 30 years. He is currently the managing member and director of a private money real estate lending, real estate development, and investment property management company. He is also the San Fernando Realty Real Estate Investment director of the California Bureau of Real Estate. 

Mr. Cohen has experience with commercial, residential, and retail real estate, and construction lending.

Litigation Support: Mr. Cohen has been retained as an expert witness in Real Estate related cases over 50 times since 1990. He represents both Plaintiff and Defense and is experienced with complex cases. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

Rick Rivera is a Southern California Commercial Real Estate Professional and Shopping Center Property, Asset Management, and Brokerage Expert in Southern California. In the real estate business for 30 plus years. 

Mr. Rivera is currently Principal of CBM1, Inc. transacting hundreds of leasing and sales deals per year with a team of 12 agents. 

Former President of Centers Business Management (CBM), overseeing 11 million square feet of shopping centers, thousands of tenants, several hundred landlord clients and dozens of property managers and leasing agents. Clients included private and institutional investors.

Areas of Expertise:

Litigation Support - Mr. Rivera offers expert witness services in cases involving commercial real estate. His services are available to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant and include thorough reporting, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. He has also served as a court appointed receiver.

Lawsuit Experience:

View CBM1's Consulting Profile.

Dick Bridy, PhD, is a Commercial Real Estate expert and entrepreneur with over 40 years of Commercial Real Estate Development, Brokerage, Investment, Leasing, Private Equity Sourcing, Operations, Construction, and Asset Management experience. He is the CEO of DBI Group (DBI) and Bedrock Investments Group (BIG), Bedrock 1st Mortgage, DBI Commercial Real Estate, and a principal of DBI Asset Management. 

Background Experience - Dr. Bridy and his team entitled and built two shopping centers and five single tenant properties. In addition, he has contracted for the redevelopment of over 3.5 million sq. ft. in 14 shopping centers in the Midwest and the Western US.

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Bridy is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.Sc. in Economics. His graduate studies garnered academic honors recognition from the San Diego State University Graduate School of Business, the Marshall School at the University of Southern California, and the University of Phoenix, from which he received an MBA, EMBA, and PhD respectively.

For decades, Dr. Bridy has served on the boards of many prominent real estate organizations, including the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, San Diego County Commercial Association of Realtors, and CCIM.

Litigation Support - Dr. Dick Bridy delivers real estate expert witness testimony for the commercial real estate and brokerage industry nationwide. He has been engaged by both plaintiff and defense attorneys. As a commercial real estate CEO, investor, developer, asset manager, broker, and syndicator, Dr. Bridy is an excellent communicator, honed by many years in leadership and advisory positions in the commercial real estate industry and as a Marine Corps officer.

Services include consultation, case review, technical investigation, IME’s, research, laboratory work (in-house or otherwise), report preparation, depositions, arbitration, mediation, court appearances, standby, cancellation of court deposition, and travel. 

Areas of Expertise: 

View Bedrock Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

As Co-Author of Anatomy of Credit Scores and Founder / President of Easy Credit Relief, Inc., Doug Minor focuses on helping and teaching people how to understand the credit system. Showing them the best ways to use credit and maximize their score. Doug has been reviewing personal credit reports and financial profiles of individuals for more than 30 years. He has happily been quoted and interviewed for articles appearing in FoxBusiness.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Entrepreneur Magazine. During this time he has enjoyed answering thousands of questions regarding credit scores and the information contained in credit reports. Having a pragmatic disposition as well a broad base of experience in business he has the unique knowledge and academics to assess damages. He has performed training classes to audiences of all levels of sophistication including Professional Groups, Lenders, CEO’s, and Consumers. As a respected Expert in Credit Related Damages, Credit Reporting, and Scoring he serves as a litigation consultant / expert witness for those involved in credit reporting, credit scores and quantifing the associated damages.

Michael B. Vaughn, through his company, Golden Age Advisory, provides analysis and testimony as an Expert Witness with extensive experience in Finance and Valuation of Real Estate and Mortgages, especially in Senior Housing.

Mr. Vaughn's background as Director of HUD’s 232 FHA insurance program, and years in senior positions in mortgage banking and government, give him unique credibility and expertise. Until January 2018, he was senior vice president, and originator of FHA and bridge loans for assisted living, skilled nursing, and other healthcare facilities for Walker & Dunlop, one of the largest commercial mortgage banking firms.

Mr. Vaughn originated or obtained portfolio approvals for over $1 billion in HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and proprietary bridge loans on Seniors, Healthcare and Multifamily loans in his career. He represented W&D and sourced new business relationships at numerous industry functions and successfully publicized W&D through quotes and articles in the Wall Street Journal, and senior housing industry publications.

Litigation Support - Mr. Vaughn is able to provide convincing analysis and testimony related to complicated financial cases in a way that is understandable to an average non-professional. Mr. Vaughn's experience testifying in both Federal and State Supreme Court trials.

Areas of Expertise:

• Financial and Document Analysis
• Report Preparation
• Deposition
• Assistance in Deposition and Cross-examination of Opposing Witnesses
• Federal and State Court Testimony
• Mediation

View Golden Age Advisory's Business Consulting Profile.

Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, PCAM, CCAM, GRI, ARM, has over 30 years of specialized experience in the field of Real Estate Management. He 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 60,000 residential units and several million square feet of commercial, industrial, self-storage and retail properties nationally. He has extensive experience as a court-appointed receiver (over 160 times) for private lenders and major financial institutions. 

Litigation Support - In the last 25+ years, Mr. Griswold has consulted on over 2,000 litigation matters, has been deposed over 600 times, and provided sworn testimony in trial or arbitration on over 150 occasions in both state and federal litigation matters throughout the United States. Also serving as a court-appointed bankruptcy Custodian and Referee, his case work 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 present opinions to juries. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Robert Griswold's Consulting Profile.

P. Marc Fischer, MBA, CPM^®, RPA^®, CCIM^®, LEED^® GA, BOMA Fellow 

Marc Fischer is a nationally recognized Commercial Real Estate (CRE) expert with more than 30 years of proven performance in the fields of property management, building operations, and asset management. He is widely recognized as an innovative and dynamic leader, and he teaches, writes, and speaks to audiences around the world about CRE topics.

Litigation Support - As an expert witness, Mr. Fischer assists landlord and tenant counsel in finding the truth. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Mr. Fischer supports both plaintiff and defendant counsel in a variety of real estate related issues including:

Highlights Include:

• 30 years of experience in all aspects of commercial real estate (CRE) property management, asset management, property operations, and construction
• MBA in Management / Organizational Behavior

Industry Designations:

• Real Property Administrator (RPA®)
• Certified Property Manager (CPM®) Designee
• Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM®) Designee
• LEED® Green Associate
• BOMA Fellow

Author of eight (8) CRE textbooks published by BOMA International (all translated into Mandarin):

• Acquisitions, Dispositions & Underwriting textbook
• Measuring Financial Returns textbook
• Lease Analysis, Evaluation, Negotiation, and Approval textbook
• Foundations of Real Estate Management textbook
• BOMA International Proactive Maintenance Guidebook for Industrial Properties
• Managing Industrial Properties
• Guide to Developing a Standard Operating Procedure Manual
• BOMA International Guide to Exterior Maintenance Manual

View InpiRE CRE, LLC's Consulting Profile.

Jay Hibert was in the Commercial Banking Industry for over 37 years before leaving to form his own company, a real estate lending and consulting company. The company provides services to banks, non-banks, and individuals in need of creative financing solutions.  Still an ACTIVE lender in the industry, Jay stays updated on current customs and practices and has transacted hundreds of real estate and non-real estate loan negotiations in times of economic growth as well as downturns in the economy. His extensive credit background arms him with the understanding of how banks and other lenders operate internally.  

Litigation Experience - Mr. Hibert has been providing expert witness and consulting services since 2010. He has been designated over 175 times as an expert in 17 different states concerning matters relating to commercial lending, real estate, construction finance, SBA loans, brokerage, hard money loan expert and investment issues. His experience includes both Federal and State court cases where he has provided deposition testimony, trial testimony and arbitration testimony. 

Jay is a licensed Real Estate Broker (CalBRE #01523) and for 10 years his company was a California Finance Lender and Broker through the California Department of Business Oversight. He is experienced in trial and deposition testimony and his services are available to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. 

Key areas of expertise in litigation work include:

• SBA Real Estate Loans
• Hard Money Loans
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice/Lender Liability
• Broker Standards of Care and Fiduciary Responsibility
• Loan Underwriting and Credit Administration
• Loan Process and Bank Loan Restructure/Workout Process
• Note Valuations/Collateral Review
• Litigation and Discovery Consulting
• Banking Operations/Administration
• Expert reports adherent to Federal Rule 26
• Hard Money Lending
• SBA Lending
• Loan Syndication/Secondary Market Loan Sales
• Title Insurance Cases
• Private Money Lending

*****Experienced in trial and deposition testimony*****

View Jay Hibert's Consulting Profile.

Christopher Hanson, JD, CCIM, has over 44 years of experience in the Real Estate Industry. A retired trial lawyer of over 25 years who's dealt exclusively with real estate cases, Mr. Hanson currently provides subject matter expertise in all areas of real estate litigation.
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Background Experience - As a California real estate trial attorney, Mr. Hanson has participated in over 880 Trials, Arbitrations, and Mediations (only 3 UDs). Cases have included negligence, fraud, non-disclosure, breaches of fiduciary duty, and contract. He's defended and sued brokers and their insurance companies. He has represented bidders, borrowers, and banks in regard to foreclosures; and both sides in loan workouts, and worked with national chains doing state-wide store rollouts, and lease renegotiations.  

Prior to his time as an attorney, Mr. Hanson worked for 12+/- years as a Real Estate Broker, actively selling and leasing property (commercial and residential). He holds a CCIM designation, earned by doing deals.  Before his role as a broker, he spent 7+/- years as a title insurance company Advisory Title Officer, where he researched and wrote Preliminary Reports.

Litigation Support - Mr. Hanson offers a balanced and unbiased opinion. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include document review, depositions, and discovery, along with arbitration and mediation. His opinion takes into account all the technicalities and nuances of real estate along with his 4 decades of experience, and is delivered in a way a jury can easily understand. 

Areas of Expertise: