Q: I am not sure what type of lawyer would help me with a negligence case that does not involved physical injury.
I am a real estate professional. I just recently discovered that an Appraisal Management Company which also does Broker's Price Opinons, had approved application from someone claiming to be me. The imposter was using my inactive real estate license to illegally perform BPO's. The imposter had a copy of my drivers license but his address was a fake address in texas and fake business address in florida. I have filed criminal charges against the nameless person. I would not be in this situation if the appraisal Management had done their due deligence and checked my license number on the RE commission website where it clearly states my license is INACTIVE. I am not sure how to proceed.
A:
This particular type of dispute falls into the area of law known as professional liability. If you have a Real Estate Professional Errors & Omissions Insurance Policy, you should report the claim made against you to your insurer, who will most likely provide a defense to you.
Because your license is inactive, you may not have such a policy in force and effect. In that event, you should look for an attorney who practices in the area of professional liability in the jurisdiction and near the venue where the lawsuit has been filed or will most likely be filed if the claim has not yet resulted in litigation.
Most likely the plaintiff will also sue or make a claim against the Appraisal Management Company, in which case you can assert a cross-claim against it. If not, you can either join the Appraisal Management Company as a third-party defendant or name it as a responsible third party (RTP).
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