In connection with disagreements or disputes of any kind relating to real estate (claims, work poorly performed or non-compliant, compulsory purchase, eviction, sale, acquisition) many companies find themselves involved in civil proceedings or arbitration (in particular for international disputes).

The parties refer the matter to the national courts or the arbitration court, in the hope that, thanks to the intervention of their attorney, the proceedings will guarantee that their legal and technical arguments are fully taken into account.

It is common knowledge however that proceedings are always unpredictable and are often long. Moreover, parties involved in civil proceedings or arbitration are often unaware that, by law, each party must produce the factual evidence required to defend their position.

If the judge appoints an appraiser, the appraiser's role will be to provide the judge with technical information regarding the case, and not to take the place of the parties by submitting evidence.

In addition, a lawsuit or arbitration often exposes the parties to the following risks:

• Inaccurate evaluation by the plaintiff of the provisional budget and time required for the proceedings;
Poor understanding of the technical data involved in the dispute and of the real seriousness of the damage (threat to the integrity of the building or to people's safety), as well as of the total value of the main loss and - where appropriate - of various additional losses (disturbance of possession, operating loss, mental distress etc.).

• Poor understanding by the parties themselves of the factual technical information produced in evidence (seriousness, foreseeable consequences of damage or of a disaster and real cost of solutions).

• Poor understanding by the court (or by the appraiser appointed) or by the parties themselves, of the factual technical information produced in evidence (disaster or damage, evaluation of buildings or of work).

• Solutions to repair or reinforce the building adopted by the court (or the appointed appraiser) technically and/or economically unsuitable.

• Inadequate understanding by the parties or their consultant, of the technical solutions suggested by the appraiser appointed by the court, difficulty by the attorneys and parties in understanding the technical advice, executive summaries or reports of the appraiser appointed by the judge, and difficulty writing the necessary ‘technical allegations in response.

• Unawareness by the parties' consultants of the standards, common technical documents (CTDs), common practice or unit costs, needed to defend their position.

• Poor understanding by the parties or their consultant of the non-compliance of services performed, with regard to the estimates agreed, plans, choice of materials, standards, common practice or administrative regulations.

• Difficulty by the attorneys and parties understanding the responsibilities involved in the design and project management, and the responsibilities of the various companies.

The person subject to trial must therefore face the court's decision, and the unresolved (or poorly resolved) problem, alone. The urgency of the situation, psychological pressure and a lack of knowledge of the construction industry, often result in the person accepting such decisions, in spite of any doubts or reservations.


In this field, for 25 years, Lamy S.A. Expertise has been offering technical and financial advice to private individuals, with the guarantee of real independence.

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