Eva T. Cantarella, Attorney

Eva T. Cantarella is a partner at Hertz Schram. Her primary practice areas are (i) Property Tax Appeals and (ii) Employee Benefits, with a focus on class claims for pension benefits under both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") and governmental plans.  Ms. Cantarella is currently litigating several class claims for pension benefits, including a Class Action against the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System.

Property Tax Appeals
Ms. Cantarella is the former owner and President of Oakland/Macomb Appraisal Services (OMAS), a real estate appraisal company.  During her tenure with OMAS, Ms. Cantarella performed thousands of appraisals for banks, mortgage companies and other financial institutions.
Since 1996, Ms. Cantarella has handled all property tax appeals at Hertz Schram, including appeals on office, industrial, retail, and luxury condominium properties.  To date, all appeals Ms. Cantarella has handled have resulted in a significant reduction in the taxable value of the subject property.  Successful resolutions the past few years have included appeals on (i) 21 E. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI (office building); (ii) the Livonia Mall Shopping Center, Livonia, MI (retail); (iii) 3535 Cricklewood, New Baltimore, MI (industrial); (iv) Village Square Shopping Center, Denton Township, MI (retail); (v) Village of Wexford Shopping Center, Haring Township, MI (retail); and (vi) a group of 34 luxury condominiums in the Willits, Birmingham, MI.

Pensions
Ms. Cantarella has also been a speaker and commentator on pension issues in, and to, a variety of fora and media, including pension asset managers, pension and investment reporters, the IRS, Department of Treasury, and other governmental agencies, international consulting and accounting firms, cable television, pension interest organizations and associations, and national, state, and local employee benefit groups.

Ms. Cantarella's activities in the pension arena and comments on pension issues have been reported in/on numerous publications and websites, including www.BenefitsLink.com ; www.pensionrights.org ; www.TheJournalnews.com ; www.CFO.com ; the Wall Street Journal, IBL Class Action Reporter; Lawyers Weekly USA; Business News; Gannet News; Cincinnati Enquirer; Hartford Courant; Tax Analysts; and Michigan Benefits and Business. Not surprisingly, Ms. Cantarella is frequently solicited for comment on pension issues by our nation's legislators, employee and retiree organizations, and reporters.