Expert-witness equipment appraisals and litigation support.
A litigation appraisal from Lukes & Lukes is an independent, USPAP-compliant opinion of value, prepared to stand on its own under cross-examination. The same certified appraiser who values the equipment can support the file through deposition and trial.
At a glance
- What it is
- An independent, USPAP-compliant opinion of value prepared to stand on its own under cross-examination.
- Values reported
- FMV in most commercial, shareholder and family-law disputes. OLV and FLV in bankruptcy and creditor recovery. RCN where a loss or replacement is at issue.
- Who orders it
- Litigators, bankruptcy counsel and trustees, family-law attorneys, and corporate counsel on shareholder, partnership and insurance matters.
- Testimony
- The same certified appraiser who values the equipment supports the file through deposition and trial.
- Rebuttal
- We review an opposing report against USPAP and the data, and document where its premise, scope or methodology does not support its conclusions.
- What the report gives you
- A written narrative of scope and methodology, an itemized appendix valuing each asset, and photographs from the inspection, with senior review before it leaves.
Which value applies
Which value applies in an equipment dispute?
The value that applies depends on what is in dispute. Most commercial, shareholder and family-law disputes turn on Fair Market Value (FMV), the price a willing buyer and willing seller would agree to. Opposing counsel tests the premise first.
Bankruptcy and creditor recovery turn on Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV) and Forced Liquidation Value (FLV), the proceeds from a controlled sale or a compelled one. Where a loss or replacement is at issue, Replacement Cost New (RCN) applies. We identify the premise the matter requires, define it on the record, and value the assets against it.
- Fair Market Value (FMV): the working premise in most commercial, shareholder and family-law disputes
- Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV): proceeds from a controlled, advertised sale, common in bankruptcy and workouts
- Forced Liquidation Value (FLV): proceeds under compulsion, where a debtor or estate is wound down quickly
- Replacement Cost New (RCN): the basis where a casualty loss, conversion or replacement is at issue
- Documented methodology: the approach and the data behind every value are written out, not assumed
Admissibility
What does a court require of an equipment appraisal expert?
In federal court, an equipment appraiser testifies as an expert under Federal Rule of Evidence 702. The party offering the testimony has to show the court it is more likely than not that the opinion rests on sufficient facts or data, is the product of reliable principles and methods, and reflects a reliable application of those methods to the facts. The December 1, 2023 amendment wrote that standard into the rule's text.
A USPAP-compliant appraisal lines up with each element. The scope of work states what was inspected and what data was gathered. The cost, market and income approaches are the recognized methods. The itemized appendix shows each method applied to each asset. State courts apply their own evidence rules.
International arbitration
What does a machinery and equipment expert add in international arbitration?
In investment and commercial arbitration (ICSID, ICC, ICDR, CAM and others), the damages model usually values the whole enterprise. When the case turns on what a plant, a production line or a fleet was worth, or on its physical condition at a date, that part is carried by a machinery and equipment specialist.
Lukes & Lukes works in that role, for counsel or alongside the quantum team. We inspect the plant, read the fixed-asset registers, invoices, customs import records and pledge registries in the original language, develop replacement cost, depreciation and liquidation value, and prepare the report and the rebuttal in English or Spanish.
Related situations
Which disputes need an equipment appraisal?
Bankruptcy, divorce, shareholder and partnership disputes, insurance claims and commercial damages cases all put equipment value in front of a court. A bankruptcy turns on liquidation value, a divorce on fair market value, and the equipment can come from any industry.
Who orders it
Who retains an equipment appraiser as an expert witness?
Litigators and their clients order a litigation appraisal to support a damages or value position in a commercial dispute. Bankruptcy counsel and trustees order one to establish what an estate's equipment is worth to creditors. Family-law attorneys order one to value the equipment inside a marital business. Corporate counsel order one for shareholder, partnership and insurance matters. Each of them needs a value that holds when the other side pushes back.
What you get
What does a litigation appraisal report include?
You receive a written narrative of scope and methodology, an itemized appendix valuing each asset, and photographs from the inspection. Independent and certified, with senior review before it leaves. The appraiser who signs it can explain every line of it under oath. The work does not change with the side that retained us, and an opposing expert finds the same method they would find in any other report we have written.
- Cost, market and income approaches applied by a certified appraiser, not a database
- Itemized appendix, narrative and photographs in every report
- Independent senior review on every report
- Deposition and trial testimony from the same appraiser who prepared the valuation
- Lender- and finance-fluent: we write for the credit desk, so our report reads the way a lender needs it to
Video · 49 seconds · with transcript
USPAP is the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the recognized rulebook for how appraisals are developed and reported, and what it binds is the appraiser rather than the document.
Common questions
Answers, up front.
Can an equipment appraiser testify in court?
Yes. A qualified appraiser can serve as a testifying expert, supporting the valuation through deposition and at trial. The same certified appraiser who inspected the equipment and prepared the report explains the methodology and defends each conclusion under examination.
What makes an equipment valuation defensible in court?
Defensibility comes from four things: compliance with USPAP, the appraiser's independence from the parties, a documented methodology that shows how each number was reached, and a complete file. Our reports include a written narrative of scope and methodology, an itemized appendix valuing each asset, and photographs from inspection, so the opinion can be tested line by line and still hold.
What about valuations for bankruptcy matters?
Bankruptcy and creditor recovery usually call for Orderly Liquidation Value (OLV) or Forced Liquidation Value (FLV) rather than Fair Market Value (FMV). We identify the correct premise for the proceeding, value the estate's equipment against it, and prepare a USPAP-compliant report that counsel and trustees can put in front of the court.
How do you handle an opposing appraisal or rebuttal?
We review the opposing report against USPAP and against the data, identify where its premise, scope or methodology does not support its conclusions, and document the analysis. Because our own opinion is independent and fully supported, the rebuttal rests on the file, not on assertion.
Will the appraisal hold up in court?
It is built to. Reports are USPAP-compliant, prepared by a NEBB-certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA), and built to withstand lender, SBA, IRS, audit and legal review. Every conclusion is documented so it can be defended in deposition and at trial.