Archive | Published Articles

New York Law Journal: The Province of the Trial Court in a Condemnation Case

Michael Rikon authored a column in the June 28, 2016, edition of the New York Law Journal titled, “The Province of the Trial Court in a Condemnation Case.”  In his article, Mr. Rikon begins by noting that New York is one of only three states that does not allow trial by jury in eminent domain proceedings.  This highlights the importance of the New York trial court and its broad discretion as the trier of both fact and law. Mr. Rikon discusses a number of areas that are within the sound discretion… read more

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Appraisal Standards Board Modifications To USPAP 2016-2017

There have been several important modifications to USPAP.  The Record Keeping Rule was modified.  We have written about the obligation of an appraiser to maintain copies of all reports transmitted to a client.  (Drafts are required to be retained under Appraisal Standards, September 18, 2015). The Record Keeping Rule requires a workfile for each appraisal.  The workfile must include: true copies of any all written reports, documented on any type of media. (A true copy is a replica of the report transmitted to the client.  A photocopy or an electronic… read more

Posted in Appraisers, Cross Examination, Published Articles, USPAP, Work file
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Drafts are Required to be Retained Under Appraisal Standards

The following is a response to a comment from Mr. Rikon’s latest column in the New York Law Journal, which we recently posted here. Below, Mr. Rikon further describes the requirement under USPAP for a condemnation expert to retain his work file for cross-examination purposes. Drafts are Required to be Retained Under Appraisal Standards I write this in response to the comment made by Fred Kolikoff, Esq. dated September 1, 2015.  Mr. Kolikoff, a former Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, found fault in an article I… read more

Posted in Appraisers, Cross Examination, Published Articles, USPAP, Work file
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“Rearranging the Deck Chairs When the Ship is Going Down: Protecting Your Condemnation Record for Appeal”

Michael Rikon recently co-authored an article published in the Practical Real Estate Lawyer with James D. Masterman. The article is titled “Rearranging the Deck Chairs When the Ship is Going Down: Protecting Your Condemnation Record for Appeal” and is available online by clicking here. The article offers practical insight, tips, and guidelines for how best to preserve the record for a possible appeal. Although many practitioners may feel confident during a trial that things are going their way, the authors point out that in almost every case there may be… read more

Posted in Litigation, Published Articles
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The Constitution Pipeline & Partial Takings

For those of you not in the New York area, the Constitution pipeline is a proposed project to build  a  124-mile transmission pipeline connecting natural gas supplies in northern Pennsylvania with major northeastern markets. The pipeline is designed with the capacity to transport 650,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day (which is enough to serve 3 million homes, according to the Constitution Pipeline website.) The pipeline itself is 30 inches wide and will extend from Susquehanna County, Pa. to Schoharie County, New York. Construction is expected to begin this summer…. read more

Posted in Constitution Pipeline, Energy Companies, New York, Partial Takings, Published Articles, Valuation
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