Brompton Lodge Pty Ltd (ACN 004 458 833) (in liquidation) & Ors (according to the attached Schedule) v Head, Transport For Victoria and 1050 Western Port Highway Pty Ltd (ACN 623 531 706)

The case before the court involved Brompton Lodge Pty Ltd, in liquidation, and others who sought compensation for the reservation of part of their land for road widening under the Planning and Environment Act 1987. The respondents were Head, Transport For Victoria, and 1050 Western Port Highway Pty Ltd. The applicants had previously entered into a property development agreement with a developer, selling the land and assigning the proceeds of a compensation claim for the reservation. The sale price of $55 million included the assignment of the compensation claim and a release from the development agreement. The applicants argued that the actual sale price should be considered relevant to determining the loss resulting from the reservation, while the respondents contended that the actual sale price did not necessarily reflect a financial loss attributable to the reservation.

The court was required to determine whether the actual sale price of $55 million was relevant to establishing the loss resulting from the reservation, and whether the applicants had suffered a financial loss on the sale of the land as a natural, direct, and reasonable consequence of the reservation. The court needed to consider whether there was evidence that the applicants sold the land at a lower price than they might have expected had the land not been reserved, and whether the sale price reflected the particular circumstances of the sale, including restrictions imposed by the property development agreement. The court had to interpret the relevant statutory provisions under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986.

The court found that there was no evidence that the applicants sold the land at a lower price than they might have expected to receive had the part of the land not been reserved. The sale price of $55 million reflected the particular circumstances of the sale, including the restrictions imposed by the property development agreement. The court concluded that the applicants did not suffer a financial loss on the sale of the land as a natural, direct, and reasonable consequence of the reservation. The application for leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal was ultimately dismissed. The court held that the actual sale price of the land was not relevant to establishing the loss resulting from the reservation.