Notable Expert Witness Testimony
As a real estate consultant and independent commercial appraiser, I have extensive experience as an expert witness in federal, state and bankruptcy courts. A notable assignment as an expert witness was in a major litigation case between Maricopa County and the United States government regarding the disputed market value of Lake Pleasant Regional Park. The federal government took ownership of this 23,400-acre public boating & lakeside recreational park from Maricopa County through condemnation for construction of its new Waddell Dam. In this lawsuit I was retained for valuation and testimony services by Maricopa County, who received a successful monetary outcome.
I was also retained by Maricopa County in a major litigation case in the Superior Court of Arizona regarding a property tax appeal by the Arizona Biltmore Resort Hotel, who contented that its property tax assessment by Maricopa County was too high.
According to the judge’s decision in this Biltmore Hotel Partners v. Maricopa County/Arizona Department of Revenue case, “The appraisal was prepared by Mr. Lawrence E. Bloom, an experienced, certified MAI appraiser and consultant. Mr. Bloom has been involved in over 40 large hotels and resort hotels… In short, the evidence presented by the County through Mr. Bloom was thorough, detailed, and competent to overcome the presumption of correctness…†This turned out to be a landmark decision, whereby a judge for the first time in a property tax appeal case ruled to actually increase the property taxes for the property over and above the county’s assessed value.