A court-appointed forensic accountant brought a motion seeking payment of a final invoice for investigative work performed in complex estate and trust litigation following the death of a family patriarch.
The expert had previously estimated that completion of the mandate would cost approximately $100,000 but later submitted a substantially larger final invoice.
The court held that the expert bore the onus of justifying the amount and found the explanation for the dramatic increase unpersuasive.
In the circumstances, the expert was required to abide by the prior representation to the court and the motion for payment of the additional amount was dismissed.
Requests for production of the expert’s working papers were found premature, and a request by other professionals for reimbursement of costs was deferred to the next case management judge.
