Valuation disputes involving fine art arise in a range of legal contexts, including estate contests, divorce proceedings, partnership dissolutions, insurance coverage disputes, damage claims, and fraud allegations. In each case, the court or arbitration panel requires an independent, well-documented opinion of value from a qualified expert.

Litigation appraisals are prepared with the expectation that they will be subject to adversarial scrutiny. The methodology must be defensible, the comparable data must be verifiable, and the reasoning must withstand cross-examination. Reports prepared for litigation require a level of documentation and analytical rigor that exceeds standard appraisal practice.

Tobias Czudej and Susan McDonough provide litigation support services including expert reports, deposition testimony, and trial testimony in federal and state courts. Reports are prepared in compliance with USPAP standards and structured to meet the evidentiary requirements of the applicable jurisdiction. We work closely with retaining counsel from the outset of each engagement to understand the legal issues at stake and the specific valuation questions the court will need resolved. This early coordination ensures that the scope of analysis addresses the relevant legal standards and that the report is structured to serve the litigation effectively.

Tobias Czudej's litigation experience includes expert reports in federal court in the Southern District of New York, damage and loss quantification, and written expert testimony. Susan McDonough has provided expert valuation reports and deposition testimony in federal court, including complex historical valuations spanning decades, and appraisal review reports evaluating opposing counsel's expert submissions. Both understand the procedural requirements of expert witness practice, including disclosure obligations, report formatting standards, and the distinction between consulting and testifying expert roles.