While it is true that expert testimony can be a critical tool for a litigator in any type of case, we have noticed a growing trend in New Jersey’s trial courts toward the requirement of expert testimony in real estate litigation involving malpractice claims against real estate professionals. In this article, we review different strategies regarding expert testimony that attorneys can use to tilt the balance of the case in their favor.

Generally, expert testimony as to the standard of care owed by a defendant is not a requirement in all cases, with the exception of medical malpractice cases. However, courts will require expert testimony when the issue at bar is so esoteric that it would require a jury to improperly speculate or draw impermissible inferences. Townsend v. Pierre, 221 N.J. 36, 53 (2015). The seminal case on the issue of the standard of care owed by a real estate broker is Hopkins v. Fox & Lazo Realtors, 132 N.J. 426 (1993). In Hopkins, the New Jersey Supreme Court found that expert evidence may be necessary to clarify for a jury the standard of care expected from a reasonable real estate broker. Ultimately, however, the court in Hopkins held that a jury is capable of determining whether an obscured step was a dangerous condition without the assistance of experts because the hazard was relatively commonplace and ordinary.