The link below is a story published 5/25/2010 on the blog of Liability Insurance Administrators. It details recent happenings in a lawsuit by a group of homeowners against one of the country's largest lenders. The subject of the suit is that homeowners' equity lines of credit (HELOCs) were unjustly reduced based on flawed valuations completed through the use of an automated valuation model (AVM) rather than a full appraisal.
If the lawsuit is successful, it will put new scrutiny on the use of AVMs which could potentially favor independent fee appraisers whose businesses have been negatively impacted by the use of AVMs for lending decisions.
http://www.appraiserlawblog.com/