Real Estate: Lease Audits Expert Witnesses: 7

Steven D. Epcar, CPM an Expert in Real Estate and Property Management Issues with 35+ years of experience;including residential, commercial, retail, hotel, condominium and mixed-use properties. Experienced in litigation support including standard of care, partnership conflicts, brokerage issues,landlord/tenant, valuation, personal injury, habitability, environmental, life safety cases. 

Steven is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA).  He serves as a real estate consultant for institutional and private investors, providing an array of services: asset/property management related assignments, organizational assessments, financial feasibility, due diligence,and new development services. 

Previously, Mr. Epcar served as President, Residential Services for Carmel Partners a R/E investment/management firm in San Francisco, Principal/Founding Partner of Ventana Property Services, a West Coast third party management and consulting firm and President,Prometheus Management Group,a development/investment/management firm.

Areas of Expertise:

Standard of Care Issues Personal Injury Matters Partnership Conflicts Tenant-In-Common (TIC) 1031 Exchange Assessments Security/Life-Safety Issues Lease Compliance Issues Environmental Matters

Habitability Landlord / Tenant Disputes Fiduciary Duty Issues Property Inspections Contractor Defects and Disputes Premises Liability Real Estate Broker Duties Rent Control Compliance/Violations

Petru Corporation is a full service land consulting company offering a full line of Title, Natural Resources, and Land services.

Incorporated in 1986, Petru serves the needs of the title, title insurance, oil, gas, mineral, geothermal, wind, solar, mining, environmental, and right-of-way industries; legal, engineering, subdivision, developers, and land planning professions; government; lending and trust institutions; water purveyors; utilities; real estate companies; and the individual and business communities.

Petru Corporation and Tim Truwe were featured on Enterprises TV, aired on Fox Business Network and were published in Black Gold in California, the story of the California Petroleum Industry and also in The Business Elite, Corporate America.

Consulting Services:

Title Consulting Title Searching Title Examining Title Reports Title Engineering Title Insurance Plot Descriptions and Easements Map Drafting and Map Review Property Inspections Right of Way/Easements Water Rights

Leasehold Estates Oil, Gas, Mineral and Mining Consulting Subdivision Map Act Negotiate Oil and Gas Leases Regulatory Consulting Permitting/Regulatory Title Insurance Underwriting Support Title Insurance Claims Due Diligence Acquisitions and Divestitures Mining Claims

Timothy B. Truwe, President and Chief Financial Officer of Petru Corporation, is a Registered Professional Landman (#23542) and a Registered Environmental Property Assessor (#569045). He specializes in Title, Natural Resources and Land Matters issues and offers a full line of title, and land services.

Background - Mr. Truwe started his career in 1973 in the title, resource, and regulatory industries. His career includes employment and training at Ticor Title Insurance Company (now Chicago Title Co.) as Title Searcher, Title Officer, and Title Engineer. He also worked at Ogle Petroleum Inc., as Assistant Land Manager in the Land/Legal Department. His responsibilities at Ogle included both onshore and offshore assets and the technical and administrative oversight of several thousand parcels of land and leases in excess of one million acres.

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:

Property Manager or Broker Fiduciary Duty Transactions Lease / CAM Disputes Lease Mitigation Premises Liability - Trip & Fall Maintenance or Failure to Maintain "Slumlord" Allegations Health & Safety or Personal Injury Wrongful Death

Property Inspections Water Intrusion, Mold Bed Bugs Fair Housing, Discrimination HUD Management Issues, Criminal Acts Management / Receiver Fees Transfer Disclosures, Misrepresentation, Negligence Negligent Hiring, Supervision, Termination Association Board Duties and Negligence

View Robert Griswold's Consulting Profile.

E. Robert Miller has over 40 years of service to the real estate profession and has unrivaled expertise in Property Management Techniques. As President of E. Robert Miller & Associates, he provides Expert Witness Consulting and trial work, educational services and business development services. Mr. Miller has served on over 1,300 cases as an Expert Witness or Consultant in the property management field since 1996. He was the 2004 Northern California Expert Witness Association President. Mr. Miller's experience and thoroughness in research, depositions and trial situations makes him your best choice for an expert witness in property management litigation. Expert in the following types of properties:

Apartments, Homes, Shopping Centers, Office Buildings, Mobile Home Parks, Condominium HOAs, Industrial Buildings, Medical-Office Buildings, Single-Tenant Facilities, Gas Stations, Hotels-Motels. 

Areas of Expertise

• Accident or Assault - Safety/Security Conditions
• Improper Eviction
• Unpaid Rent - Habitability Standards
• Contractor Dispute
• Partnership Dispute
• Bankruptcy
• Animal Control
• Security Deposits
• Association Board Responsibilities/Management Duties

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: 

Asset Management Property Management Portfolio Management Commercial Litigation Premises Liabilty Disclosure Fraud

Development and Redevelopment Insurance Realtor Fiduciary Matters Constructive Eviction Lease Disputes Discrimination Entitlements

View Bedrock Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

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:

Private Money Lending Credit File and Qualifications  Appraisals Evictions Foreclosures Industry Standards Title Reports Property Management

Tenant and Landlord Issues Brokers and Investor Relation Finance and Documentation Sales and Leasing Insurance Claims Loan Servicing Escrow

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