South Dakota Codified Laws 36-21D-10. Prohibited conduct–Grounds for discipline
No employee, director, officer, agent, independent contractor or other third party acting on behalf of an appraisal management company may:
(1) Improperly influence or attempt to improperly influence the development, reporting, result, or review of a real estate appraisal;
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 36-21D-10
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
- Seal: includes an impression of the seal upon the paper alone, as well as upon wax or a wafer affixed to the paper, and also the word "seal" written or printed on such paper. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
- written: include typewriting and typewritten, printing and printed, except in the case of signatures, and where the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
(2) Intimidate, coerce, extort, bribe, blackmail, withhold payment for appraisal services, or threaten to exclude the real estate appraiser from future work in order to improperly obtain a desired result;
(3) Condition payment of an appraisal fee upon the opinion, conclusion, or valuation to be reached;
(4) Request a real estate appraiser to report a predetermined opinion, conclusion, or valuation or the desired valuation of any person or entity;
(5) Engage in any other act or practice that impairs or attempts to impair a real estate appraiser’s independence, objectivity, and impartiality;
(6) Require a real estate appraiser to provide the appraisal management company with the appraiser’s digital signature or seal;
(7) Alter, amend, or change an appraisal report submitted by a real estate appraiser;
(8) Remove an appraiser from a real estate appraiser panel without prior written notice to the appraiser, with the prior written notice including evidence of the following:
(a) The appraiser’s illegal conduct;
(b) A violation of the appraisal standards adopted by the Department of Labor and Regulation pursuant to this chapter; or
(c) Improper or unprofessional conduct; or
(9) Require an appraiser to sign any indemnification agreement that would require the appraiser to defend and hold harmless the appraisal management company or any of its agents or employees for any liability, damage, losses, or claims arising out of the services performed by the appraisal management company or its agents, employees, or independent contractors and not the services performed by the appraiser.
A violation of this section may constitute grounds for discipline against an appraisal management company who is registered pursuant to the laws of the State of South Dakota.
Source: SL 2011, ch 184, § 10.