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The state is accusing Ernst & Young and several of its property tax experts from the mainland of operating as unlicensed real estate appraisers when representing Oahu property owners appealing their tax assessments.
The state Regulated Industries and Complaints Office filed Thursday in state court for an injunction against the international accounting company and its experts, Peter M. Smith of California, Jason L. Morris of Nevada and Jerry Aucoin of Washington.
The suit asks the court to order the defendants to stop making real estate appraisals and to assess civil fines of $1,000 and $2,500 for each violation.
Real estate appraiser is one of the professions the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is required by law to license and regulate.
The state says Ernst & Young and its experts appeared before the City and County of Honolulu’s Board of Review from 2009 through last year to challenge real property tax assessments of properties. They presented their own opinions of the market values of the properties and analyses purportedly supporting the opinions.
No one from the Ernst & Young Honolulu office responded to requests for comment about the state’s complaint.
