BOLLEN & BOLLEN

In *Bollen & Bollen*, the wife sought to appoint a new independent valuer to assess the value of certain real properties, while the husband contended that the valuer jointly appointed by the parties for a prior mediation should instead be appointed as the single expert for the ongoing Family Court proceedings and provide an updated valuation.

The central legal issue before Macmillan J was whether to appoint a new valuer as the single expert for the proceedings, as requested by the wife, or to retain the valuer previously engaged by both parties for mediation purposes to provide an updated valuation.

Macmillan J reasoned that it was more efficient and cost-effective to utilise the existing valuer who was already familiar with the properties and had been jointly appointed by the parties. This approach avoided the need for a new expert to familiarise themselves with the assets and ensured continuity. The court therefore ordered that the existing property valuer be appointed as the single expert to provide updated valuations of the specified real properties at the parties' joint expense.