Expert witnesses are respected members of their profession who are trusted to provide truthful accounts in court, however if their credentials are found to be inaccurate or misleading, their testimony may be deemed unreliable. One recent example underscores the importance of verifying expert witnesses' credentials for your own and opposing legal teams.
Read MoreFCC Filings Can Guide Consumer Decisions and Provide Insight about Competitor’s Products
Before selling new communication devices, companies must seek certification from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is a government agency responsible for regulating communications in the United States, so these filings are made available as public records in a searchable database on the FCC website.
Read MoreSeemingly Obscure Data May Already Exist as an Open Record in a Government Database
Statistics on any number of different topics applicable to your needs may already be collected by the government and accessible either online or through an open records request. The government is constantly creating new databases and registries, ranging from expected statistics (related to population or transportation, for example) to seemingly obscure information about vending machine injuries or the ages of Atlantic salmon.
Read MoreProperty Document Analysis, Part IV: Permits and Inspections
Building permits and building inspection records are useful public documents in various situations, including determining if a property owner has flouted local building codes, a landlord has not kept his property up to code or a company has illegally maintained waste or chemicals on their property.
Read MoreProperty Document Analysis, Part III: Property Assessments and Tax Payments
Property tax assessment and payment records are useful documents for understanding a property owner’s financial situation and learning details of a particular property.
Read MoreProperty Document Analysis, Part II: Mortgages
Mortgages are legal documents that evidence a lender’s rights to a property in exchange for a loan. Mortgages are a useful resource for learning how wealthy someone is, understanding a borrower’s future financial stability, and determining if a loan was obtained under questionable circumstances.
Read MoreProperty Document Analysis, Part I: Deeds
The primary instrument in all property transactions is the deed. Property deeds are recorded documents legally denoting the transfer of land from one party to another. The parties listed on a deed are either grantors (sellers) or grantees (purchasers).
Read MoreProperty Document Analysis Overview
Property records, one of the most commonly utilized public records, can be used to learn a wealth of information about a property and its owner. Over the following weeks, we will be posting a series of articles here describing how to conduct an analysis of the several principal types of property documents.
Read MoreMechanics' Liens
Last week we discussed several types of tax liens often filed against individuals and businesses. Another form of a lien commonly filed is the Mechanic's Lien. A Mechanic's Lien is not necessarily an adverse filing, but under certain circumstances can suggest that a property owner has refused to pay a contractor for services rendered.
Read MoreTax Liens
Tax liens are a useful resource for conducting public records research on a potential business partner, company or a political figure. For the potential investor, a tax lien can serve as a warning sign of deeper underlying financial problems. Additionally, many forms of tax liens qualify as secured creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, meaning paying the lien will take precedence over an investor's claim if the company were to seek Bankruptcy Court protection. For political figures, the existence of a tax lien can make them vulnerable to arguments that they are not meeting their civic obligations and are hurting the institutions funded by the unpaid taxes; such as schools, police or fire departments.
Read MoreDistinguishing Membership in a Professional Organization from a Professional Credential
Ron Lieber's recent "Your Money" column made a good point about the difference between a "credential" and a membership in a professional organization. Lieber's point concerned members of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors but it could relate to any of the thousands of professional organizations that exist.
Read MoreBritish Parliament Expense Reports Released Online, but Redacted
This week, the British Parliament published expense reports for its members online in response to an extensive court and legislative battle originating from a five-year-old Freedom of Information request. The records made available by Parliament are redacted versions of expense reports that had been leaked last month to the Daily Telegraph, resulting in the recent scandal that has shaken up British government.
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