Stephen J. Donell, Court Receiver & Expert Witness

Stephen J. Donell, CPM^®, CCIM, ARM^® has been active in various fields of real estate since 1984.  Since that time, Mr. Donell has been involved in the acquisition, development, marketing, and management of properties primarily located in the western United States.  Property types include office, retail, industrial, multi-family, hotel, motel, mobile home parks, self-storage, land, single family, and condominiums.

Since 1990, Mr. Donell has administered and/or been appointed as a federal and state court receiver in over 900 cases in both state and federal court.  He has extensive experience involving asset and business liquidations and operations, gas stations, restaurants, residential, retail and commercial real estate.  In addition, Mr. Donell has administered cases involving commercial and residential owners’ associations, post judgment enforcement actions, marital dissolution cases, single family and condominium construction completion/entitlements, accounts receivable collections, collateral seizure cases, including medical practices and coin laundry facilities, truck stops, parking operations, skilled nursing facilities and/or Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE), intermediate care facilities, entertainment, ATM, EB-5, equipment rental, apparel and other types of business receivership appointments.  Mr. Donell has also administered and/or been appointed in federal court as receiver in United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and other government enforcement actions.  These cases have involved over 25,000 investors/consumers and invested funds totaling more than $750 million and involve the recovery of assets in multiple foreign jurisdictions. Mr. Donell has also served as court appointed dissolution manager, provisional director, provisional manager and distribution agent.  Mr. Donell is an industry leader serving as an equity receiver, where he is appointed as receiver over the receivership entity itself.

Mr. Donell is the President of Jalmar Properties, Inc. AMO^®, a real estate investment and property management company experienced in the acquisition, development and management of office, retail, industrial, single-family and multi-family properties, including duplexes up to apartments with hundreds of units.  The company was formed in 1985 and has provided management services to owners of properties worth billions of dollars.  Jalmar Properties, Inc. AMO^® is licensed as a Real Estate Broker in California, Arizona and Nevada, and the company was awarded the designation of AMO^® Company of the Year in 2005 by the Los Angeles/Orange County Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM^®). Jalmar has extensive experience in commercial tenant improvement work, sub-standard housing, rehabilitation, CAM charge analysis and code enforcement compliance including mold, lead-based paint and asbestos remediation.  Mr. Donell is also President of FedReceiver^®, Inc., which employs four receivers.

Mr. Donell is President of Donell Expert Services, Inc. and he serves as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases related to premises liability, habitability, lease and receivership standard of care disputes. He has served as an expert in matters including but not limited to slip and fall, parking lots, habitability, mold, roaches/bedbugs, asbestos, site-line obstruction, lead-based paint, sub-standard housing allegations, the criminal acts of third parties, real estate partnership fiduciary duty and overall standard of care issues related to the ownership, operation and management of residential and commercial real estate. He also serves as an expert in matters involving the duties and obligations of court appointed receivers and HOA’s.