Professional Negligence Law Reporter

A Michigan appellate court held that an independent forensic accountant appointed by a trial court to work on litigation related to a foreclosure proceeding was not liable to the homeowner for malpractice.

A bank initiated foreclosure proceedings against homeowners Saleem Bin Shakoor and Tasleem Saleem, who then filed suit against the bank. During the litigation, the trial court appointed certified public accounting firm Metzler Locricchio Serra & Co. as an independent forensic accountant to determine the amounts owed under the homeowners’ loans. After the accounting firm issued a draft report, the trial court granted summary judgment for the bank. An appellate court affirmed.

The homeowners sued the accounting firm, alleging accountant malpractice and other claims. The defendant moved successfully to dismiss.

Affirming, the appellate court noted that to establish an accountant breached the applicable standard of care, a plaintiff must prove the accountant did not exercise the degree of skill as an accountant of ordinary learning and judgment in the same or similar community, under the same or similar circumstances. Here, the court found, the plaintiffs did not allege they were the defendant’s client—and neither did the court order appointing the defendant when it was named an independent forensic accountant. Citing case law, the court said that because of a lack of professional relationship here, the plaintiffs cannot establish a malpractice claim under common law.

Citation: Shakoor v. Metzler Locricchio Serra & Co., 2024 WL 2985565 (Mich. Ct. App. June 13, 2024).