Arkinstall v Valuer-General

Corine Margretta Arkinstall appealed against the valuation of her rural land at 479 Running Creek Road, Rathdowney, which the Valuer-General assessed at $630,000 as at 1 October 2010. The appellant contended for a valuation of $350,000, eventually submitting for a valuation of $500,000. The appellant’s case was based on comparable sales and “non-sales”, which she argued indicated a lower market value than that of the Valuer-General. The respondent, represented by Mr Denis Wall, a registered valuer, supported the valuation of $630,000 by the method of direct comparison with sales.

The legal issues in the case were whether the appellant had discharged the onus of proof under s.169(3) of the Land Valuation Act 2010 and whether the evidence supported a valuation of $3,000 per ha. The Court held that it was not an investigating tribunal and had to rely on the evidence put before it by the parties. The Land Appeal Court had established that the best test of value was sales of comparable properties on the open market. The Court was satisfied that the respondent’s expert evidence, uncontradicted by any evidence from another expert valuer, was that the material relied upon by the appellant did not require him to revise his valuation. The Court was satisfied that the valuation of $630,000, based on Sales 2 and 3 used by Mr Wall, was supported by properly conservative evidence in view of those sales.

The Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the valuation appealed against.