Former Appraisal Institute CEO Sues Group For Sexual Harassment, Alleges Self-Dealing

One of the appraisal industry’s primary trade groups for years ignored sexual harassment claims against a senior executive, a lawsuit filed Thursday alleges. 

The Appraisal Institute, which provides licensing classes to industry professionals, is accused of ignoring or failing to appropriately respond to several complaints from multiple women about what they deemed to be inappropriate interactions with Craig Steinley, a former president and current vice president of the nonprofit.

The suit was filed by Cindy Chance, the former CEO of the organization, who was ousted in September. Chance alleges she was both a victim of Steinley’s harassment and felt pressured to help cover it up. 

She accuses Steinley, who was president of the organization during her tenure, of “systematically undermining [her] through a pattern of sexual harassment shortly after she began working for AI.”

At one board meeting in May 2024, Chance says she raised the issue of sexual harassment within the organization without directly naming Steinley, who was sitting next to her. After the meeting, Steinley, who had allegedly been spreading rumors that he and Chance were dating, groped Chance’s rear end without her consent as they were alone in a hallway, the suit says. 

“That's the thing that people are confused about: Sexual harassment is not about anything to do with sex,” Chance said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “It's about power and control, and making people feel uncomfortable, frightened and humiliated, and undermining their authority.”

The suit describes Chance hearing from several AI members and staffers about Steinley’s inappropriate behavior. She claims to have brought the issue to the attention of the agency’s board of directors on multiple occasions only to be brushed aside.

“Sexual harassment and retaliation have become normalized at AI, and anyone who tries to address the issue is forced out,” Anita Mazumdar Chambers, a principal of The Employment Law Group, which is representing Chance, said in an email.

The case was filed in Cook County Circuit Court — AI is headquartered at 200 West Madison in Chicago — the same day that The New York Times published an investigation in which the publication spoke to 12 women who said they had uncomfortable interactions with Steinley, 64, ranging from uncomfortably long hugs to groping.

AI privately paid former Chief Financial Officer Beata Swacha $412K last May to settle a sexual harassment claim, the Times found. Swacha claimed she had been subject to unwanted touching and “wildly inappropriate behavior,” and that AI operated under “a sexually hostile work environment,” according to a letter sent by her lawyers and obtained by the Times. 

Chance, who told the Times she had approved the payment of a six-figure settlement of a sexual harassment claim against Steinley while CEO, said Thursday that she looked into his personnel file during her time at AI and found no record of any complaints.

“The Appraisal Institute is committed to a safe and respectful environment for all our employees and members, and nothing short of that is OK,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement to Bisnow after the Times’ story was published. “We have policies that prohibit — and are there to ensure we promptly address any reports of — discrimination, harassment or retaliation.”

AI is opening an investigation into the allegations, but the spokesperson declined to comment on Steinley’s employment status while the case is pending. 

Steinley and Craig Capilla, his attorney, didn’t respond to Bisnow's request for comment. 

“Mr. Steinley wholly denies any allegations of any unwanted touching or harassment. It simply did not occur,” Capilla told the Times in an email. 

While focused on the lack of action around Steinley, Chance’s lawsuit includes a host of other allegations of malfeasance. 

She alleges that she notified the board last May that AI was “intentionally overstating membership numbers to shield itself from membership challenges regarding its management.” 

That same month, she claims she raised concerns that lucrative contracts for teaching opportunities were being directed to friends of staff, board members or the staff themselves. She also told the board that their instructor approval process was effectively discriminating against women and minorities.

“There's a complete failure of governance,” Chance said. “Leaders were functioning by a system of fealty and allegiances. They call it an old boys and girls club, but more or less what it means is that you help your friends and you make sure your enemies pay.” 

In August, Chance raised concerns about the efficacy of the Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal, AI’s flagship digital training program that was launched in March 2023. 

The suit also outlines Chance’s efforts to work with Alissa Akins, the then-director of education and publications at the agency, to flag and fix a problem with AI’s test scoring procedure that was leading to inaccurate test results. 

That revelation first became public in March, when Akins sued AI for fraud, alleging she was forced out of her job for attempting to fix the issue. The faulty test scoring procedures — which in some cases failed to account for differences in state standards and in others had incorrect answer keys — resulted in hundreds of appraisers who shouldn’t have been certified being passed through the system, Chance’s suit says. 

AI has filed a motion to dismiss Akins’ case that is set for a hearing on July 15.

“Appraisal Institute categorically denies the allegations,” the AI spokesperson said in a statement to Bisnow earlier this week. “We are confident in the motion and believe that Ms. Akins’ claims should be dismissed.”

Attorneys for AI argue that Akins’ case should be dismissed because her allegations, “even if true, are inadequate to allege fraud” and Akins failed to identify any injured party resulting from the allegations. 

“It is surprising that the Institute would argue its conduct does not violate public policy,” Akins’ attorney, Jordan Matyas, said in an email Monday. “We look forward to addressing this claim directly in court.”

Chance was forced out of the top spot at AI after what the suit alleges was a performance evaluation orchestrated and led by Steinley. She wasn't present at the board meeting where she was ousted and didn’t even know it was happening. She was notified of her firing via email on Sept. 12.

“This is a broken, cowed organization that Ms. Chance was hired to fix. She had no idea of the depth of its dysfunctionality, and as CEO she wasn’t given a proper chance to fix it, but perhaps her lawsuit can help to finish the job,” Chambers said.