Working with experts
Attacking the other side’s analysis rather than replacing it
A rebuttal expert does not produce a competing valuation. They examine the opposing analysis and explain why it does not support its conclusion, which is a narrower and often more effective task.
Two roles
Rebuttal and competing opinion
Competing opinion
An independent analysis reaching its own conclusion. Necessary where the party must put a figure forward, which in condemnation the owner usually must.
Rebuttal
A critique of the opposing analysis. Does not require a competing figure and can be devastating where the other report has a methodological gap, because it does not invite a comparison of two judgements.
Why it works
A standards argument beats an opinion argument
Two appraisers disagreeing about adjustments is a contest of judgement, and a fact finder may reasonably prefer either. An expert demonstrating that the opposing appraisal never analysed the remainder separately is not asking anyone to prefer a judgement. It is identifying something the method requires and the report does not contain.
In appraisal this is formalised: appraisal review is a recognised discipline under USPAP Standard 3, with its own requirements. A review appraiser can be instructed to give an opinion of value as well, or not to, and the narrower instruction is often the stronger evidence.
It is also cheaper. A review costs a fraction of an independent appraisal, which makes it the right first step in most cases even where a full valuation eventually follows.
Targets
What rebuttal usually finds
| Finding | Why it carries |
|---|---|
| The remainder was never separately analysed | The method requires it, so the after value is unsupported |
| Severance damages concluded as nil with no reasoning | A conclusion without a basis cannot be tested or relied on |
| Highest and best use asserted | The premise of the whole valuation rests on an assumption |
| Comparables affected by the project | Project influence is excluded by the applicable standard |
| Adjustments without derivation | The method requires support, not experience alone |
| Opinion outside the expert’s field | Grounds for partial exclusion as well as for rebuttal |
| Cost to cure that does not cure | Pays for the work and leaves the residual loss unaddressed |
Questions about rebuttal
Can the same expert do rebuttal and give their own valuation
Yes, and it should be instructed explicitly, because the two are separate assignments with separate requirements under professional standards.
Is rebuttal evidence always admitted
Disclosure deadlines for rebuttal are usually separate and often shorter. Missing them is a common and avoidable loss.
Does rebuttal work without a competing number
It can, and in condemnation the owner usually needs a number anyway because the fact finder has to award one. The strongest position is a competing valuation plus a specific critique.
Is this different from an appraisal review
Appraisal review is the formal version of it, with its own standard. Rebuttal is the litigation term for the same work plus testimony.
The expert decides the number more often than the argument does
In condemnation the facts in dispute are technical. Who presents them, and how well, is usually what the case turns on.