If deemed to be a fiduciary, appraisers could be held liable for breaching their fiduciary duties. But do appraisers normally perform in the role of a fiduciary? The answer is "No." Though professionals, appraisers typically act in an arm’s-length manner in the capacity of independent contractors but not as fiduciaries.A fiduciary is one who has a special relation of trust, confidence, or responsibility in his or her obligations to others, as does a bank trust officer, a guardian and his minor ward, the Executor of an estate, a company director, a lawyer and his client, or an agent of a principal (e.g., an estate liquidator or an auctioneer.) A fiduciary is expected to act as an advocate for his or her client who is normally in no position to supervise or control the actions taken by the fiduciary on his behalf. The client must take those actions on trust, and the fiduciary principle is designed to prevent that trust from being misplaced. Fiduciaries who violate that trust can be held liable for doing so.
Ordinarily, fiduciary duties do not attach to the appraiser-client relationship. This is true for all appraisal practice services because the independence required to render an appraisal practice service is fundamentally inconsistent with the status of a fiduciary. According to USPAP and to all appraisal society Codes of Ethics, the appraiser is required to act in an impartial and unbiased manner and NOT as an advocate. The appraiser is prohibited from acting in the capacity of an advocate, and, therefore, is prohibited from functioning as a fiduciary. ...read more
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