Appraiser

In practice. A person appointed by competent authority to appraise or value goods or real estate. APPREHENSIO (Lat.)

In the civil and old English law. A taking hold of a person or thing; apprehension; the seizure or capture of a person. Calv. Lex. One of the varieties or subordinate forms of oecupatio, or the mode of acquiring title to things not belonging to any one. Fleta applies it to the finding of things on the seashore. Fleta, lib. 3, c. 2, § 5.

A person appointed by competent authority to value goods or real estate. An importer is entitled to have a merchant appraiser who is familiar with the character and value of the goods in question, and in a suit brought to recover an excess of duties he may raise the question of want of qualification of the appraiser; Oelbermann v. Merritt, 123 U. S. 356, 8 Sup. Ct 151, 31 L. Ed. 164. As to Board of General, Appraisers, see Customs Duties. As early as Edw. I. the judges were ordered to make provision for appraisers.

A person appointed by competent authority to make an appraisement, to ascertain and state the true value of goods or real estate.

— General appraisers. Appraisers appointed under an act of congress to afford nid and assistance to the collectors of customs in the appraisement of imported merchandise. Gibb v. Washington, 10 Fed. Cas. 288.

— Merebant appraisers. Where the appraisement of an invoice of imported goods made by the revenue officers at the custom house is not satisfactory to the importer, persons may be selected (under this name) to make a definitive valuation ; they must be merchants engaged in trade. Auffmordt v. Hedden (C. Ct) 30 Fed. 360; Oelberman v. Merritt (C. Ct) 19 Fed. 408.

A person appointed by authority to ascertain and state the value of property submitted to his inspection.