Third, the claimant must establish that the appraiser’s misconduct (violation of the standard of care) caused the claimant an injury. This is generally proved by showing that the claimant reasonably relied on the appraiser’s valuation or report and that but for the appraiser’s mistake, the claimant would not have taken a particular course of action – the lender would not have made the loan or the buyer/borrower would not have purchased the property or accepted the loan.
For example, in Kuehn v. Stanley, the Arizona Court of Appeals found that the claimant buyer could not have relied on the appraisal report since the buyer was already bound to purchase the property irrespective of the appraiser’s valuation.