Beydoun v Valuer-General - [2017] QLC 36

LAND COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION: Beydoun v Valuer-General [2017] QLC 36

PARTIES: Nabil Beydoun
(appellant)

v

Valuer-General
(respondent)

FILE NO/s: LVA274-16

DIVISION: General division

PROCEEDING: Appeal against valuation under the Land Valuation Act 2010

DELIVERED ON: 14 July 2017

DELIVERED AT: Brisbane

HEARD ON: 29 June 2017

HEARD AT: Cairns

PRESIDENT: FY Kingham

ORDER/S:
1. The appeal is dismissed.

2. The valuation appealed against is confirmed.

CATCHWORDS:
PROCEDURE – CIVIL PROCEEDINGS IN STATE AND TERRITORY COURTS – statutory valuation – Land Valuation Act 2010 – onus of proof – comparable sales – where the appellant objected to the Valuer-General’s valuation assessment – where the appellant submitted the valuation was excessive and did not account for the disadvantages of the property – where the appellant did not rely on any valuation evidence or comparable sales – where the appeal was dismissed

Land Valuation Act 2010 s 7(a), s 19(1), s 169

Barnwell v Valuer-General (1989) 13 QLCR 13
Fischer v Valuer-General (1983) 9 QLCR 44
JL & I Qualischefski v Valuer-General (1969) 6 QLCR 167
Monaghan v Department of Natural Resources and Mines [2003] QLC 70
Tow v Valuer-General- Redland Shire (1978) 5 QLCR 194

APPEARANCES:
The appellant in person

Predev Prasad, legal officer, In-house Legal, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, for the respondent

Mr Nabil Beydoun owns a 1,012m² parcel of land at 227 McLeod Street, Cairns North. It is rectangular in shape, with a narrow frontage of 12m and a depth of 84m. As of 1 October 2015, the Valuer-General assessed its site value at $305,000. Mr Beydoun’s objection to that assessment was rejected and he appealed to this Court, contending its site value is no more than $230,000, the site value assessed by the Valuer-General as at 1 October 2014.

Although he identified four grounds of appeal, those grounds and the arguments Mr Beydoun made to support them, are simply expressed by the following propositions:

1. The increased assessment is not justified, because real estate values in Cairns have fallen, not risen, since 2008 (ground 1).

2. The assessment does not adequately account for disadvantages of this property, namely its narrow frontage, which constrains development, and drainage issues (grounds 2 and 3).

3. The assessment is excessive given the assessment on the adjacent property at 229 McLeod Street (ground 4).

The property is non-rural land, so the Valuer-General is required to assess its site value.[1] That is its expected realisation under a bona fide sale assuming the six unit complex now on the property had not been constructed.[2] In assessing site value, the Valuer-General relied on the report by one of its senior valuers, Ms Amanda Hunter, a registered valuer with some 30 years’ experience.
[1]Land Valuation Act 2000 s 7(a).
[2]Ibid s 19(1).

Mr Beydoun gave evidence in person and relied on an extract from a report by Herron Todd White called “CairnsWatch December 2016”.[3] Although Mr Beydoun said he had some training in valuing land before he came to Australia,…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Beydoun v Valuer-General

Details

AGLC: Beydoun v Valuer-General [2017] QLC 36
Case: [2017] QLC 36
Decision Date: 14 July 2017

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Beydoun brought an appeal against a valuation assessment conducted by the Valuer-General under the Land Valuation Act 2010. The primary contention was that the valuation was excessive and failed to consider the disadvantages associated with the property. The case was heard in the court of appeal, which was tasked with determining whether the appellant's objections were valid and whether the onus of proof had been met to demonstrate that the valuation was incorrect.

The central legal issue revolved around the onus of proof in valuation assessments and the requirement for the appellant to provide valuation evidence or comparable sales to support their claim that the assessment was excessive. The court had to consider whether the appellant's failure to provide such evidence affected their ability to challenge the valuation effectively. Additionally, the court needed to determine whether the disadvantages of the property, as argued by the appellant, were adequately accounted for in the Valuer-General's assessment.

The court found that the appellant did not discharge the onus of proof to show that the valuation was excessive. The appellant did not provide any valuation evidence or comparable sales to substantiate their claims. The court held that without such evidence, the appellant's objections could not be upheld. The disadvantages of the property were considered in the context of the market conditions and were reflected in the assessment. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed, and the original valuation assessment stood.

No further orders were made by the court.

Orders