Date Filed: April 14, 2009 Court: U.S. District Court Location: California Ticker Symbol: WFC
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro filed a class-action lawsuit claiming Wells Fargo and its appraisal management service, Rels Valuation, pressure and intimidate appraisers to deliver inflated home appraisal values.
Rels provides the appraiser with a predetermined figure called the 'Borrower Estimated Value' and expects the appraisers to deliver reports with values exceeding the Rels-supplied figures, the suit claims.
The lawsuit claims, if appraisers refuse to inflate prices and change their reports, they end up blacklisted and denied future work with the companies.
The lawsuit seeks to represent all state-licensed or state-approved appraisers nationwide who've been removed as an approved appraiser by Wells Fargo or Rels Valuation. The suit asks for treble damages and is the first lawsuit filed on behalf of appraisers against Wells Fargo and Rels.
If you've performed appraisals for Wells Fargo or Rels Valuation and been blacklisted, you may be eligible to join this suit. You can contact attorneys at wfc@hbsslaw.com.