Paul Ferland co-authored a piece titled, "Colo. Appraisal Dispute Seems To Discount True Impartiality" in Law360 discussing the decision of the Colorado Court of Appeals in Owners Insurance Co. v. Dakota Station II Condominium Assoc., 2017 WL 3184568 (Colo.App. 2017).
"Charitably read, Owners can be viewed as an attempt to reduce litigation over appraisal awards. Whether it will actually result in those ends is questionable, and the costs of its means high. A preferable means of reducing litigation, and one faithful to the contractual language, may be to require the parties to retain impartial appraisers in lieu of partisan advocates. The parties to an appraisal would be required to conform their conduct to the law. Instead, Owners adjusts the law to accommodate the conduct of the parties, leaving all sides with the unenviable task of determining what it means to favor one side over the other without bias. Impartial advocates on both sides will undoubtedly grapple with that question in the days to come," Paul states.
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