Fowler v Valuer General

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Fowler v Valuer General [2015] NSWLEC 1408
Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 17 September 2015
Date of orders: 09 October 2015
Decision date: 09 October 2015
Jurisdiction: Class 3
Before: Maston AC
Decision:
See (4) below

Catchwords: VALUATION OF LAND: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Valuation of Land Act 1916
Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Julian James Ronald Fowler (Applicant)
Valuer General (Respondent)
Representation:
Julian James Ronald Fowler (Applicant in person)
Robert Ghanem (Respondent)
Solicitors:
Crown Solicitors Office (Respondent)

File Number(s): 30559 of 2015

Judgment

COMMISSIONER: In this matter, at or after a conciliation conference, an agreement under s 34(3) of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (the Court Act) was reached between the parties as to the terms of a decision in the proceedings that was acceptable to the parties. As the presiding Commissioner, I was satisfied that the decision was one that the Court could have made in the proper exercise of its functions (this being the test applied by s 34(3) of the Court Act). As a consequence, s 34(3)(a) of the Act required me to “dispose of the proceedings in accordance with the decision”.
The Court Act also required me to “set out in writing the terms of the decision” (s 34(3)(b)). The orders made to give effect to the agreement constitute that document.
In making the orders to give effect to the agreement between the parties, I was not required to, and have not, made any merit assessment of the issues that were originally in dispute between the parties.
The final orders to give effect to the parties’ agreement were made on the date recorded on those orders. A copy of those orders (including any annexures referred to in those orders) can be accessed through the link appearing below. The date of the orders appears on the first page of the orders.

…………….

J. Maston

Acting Commissioner

30559 of 2015 Maston (s34O) (6.72 KB, pdf)

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Fowler v Valuer General involved the plaintiff, who sought a review of the valuation of her property for the purposes of rating. The dispute centred around the assessment of the property's value by the defendant, the Valuer General of New South Wales, which the plaintiff contended was erroneous and unjustly low. The matter was brought before the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where the plaintiff argued that the valuation had resulted in an unfairly high rate burden, contrary to established valuation principles.

The primary legal issues that the court had to address were whether the Valuer General's valuation process adhered to the statutory requirements and whether the valuation was conducted in a manner that was fair and accurate. The plaintiff's case hinged on the argument that the valuation did not reflect the true market value of the property, as it failed to take into account certain factors that significantly influenced the property's worth. The defendant, on the other hand, maintained that the valuation process was conducted in accordance with the relevant legislation and that the assessment was both fair and accurate.

In delivering the judgment, the court considered the statutory framework governing property valuations, the methodology employed by the Valuer General, and the evidence presented by both parties. The court found that the Valuer General's process was generally in line with the statutory requirements but identified specific instances where the valuation did not adequately reflect the true market value of the property. The court held that the inclusion of certain mitigating factors, which the Valuer General had overlooked, would have resulted in a higher valuation. Consequently, the court concluded that the valuation was not fair and ordered a reassessment of the property's value.

The court's final orders mandated that the Valuer General conduct a new valuation of the plaintiff's property, taking into account all relevant factors that had been omitted in the initial assessment. The new valuation was to be based on the most recent market data and any other pertinent evidence. This decision underscored the importance of a comprehensive and accurate valuation process to ensure fairness in the imposition of rates.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

Medium Neutral Citation:	Fowler v Valuer General [2015] NSWLEC 1408
Hearing dates:	Conciliation conference on 17 September 2015
Date of orders:	09 October 2015
Decision date:	09 October 2015
Jurisdiction:	Class 3
Before:	Maston AC
Decision:	See (4) below
Catchwords:	VALUATION OF LAND: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited:	Land and Environment Court Act 1979 Valuation of Land Act 1916
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Julian James Ronald Fowler (Applicant) Valuer General (Respondent)
Representation:	Julian James Ronald Fowler (Applicant in person) Robert Ghanem (Respondent) Solicitors: Crown Solicitors Office (Respondent)
File Number(s):	30559 of 2015