Jassls Pty Limited v Valuer General - [2006] NSWLEC 59

Land and Environment Court

of New South Wales

CITATION: Jassls Pty Limited v Valuer General [2006] NSWLEC 59

PARTIES:
APPLICANT
Jassls Pty Limited
RESPONDENT
Valuer General

FILE NUMBER(S): 31457 of 2005

CORAM: Preston CJ

KEY ISSUES: Practice and Procedure :- appeal - time for appeal expired - application for leave to appeal after time for appeal expired - principles to be applied - leave granted - Valuation of Land Act 1916 (NSW)
s 38(2)

LEGISLATION CITED: Valuation of Land Act 1916, s 37(1), s 38(1), s 38(2)

CASES CITED: Australand Holdings Pty Limited v Hornsby Council [1998] NSWLEC 128 (18 June 1998);
Bursill v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2001] NSWLEC 298 (23 November 2001);
Danny Kidron & Andrew Spail Architects Pty Ltd v Garrett (1994) 35 NSWLR 572;
Gallo v Dawson (1990) 93 ALR 479;
Jackamarra v Krakouer (1998) 195 CLR 516;
Perpetual Trustees Australia Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2000] NSWLEC 173 (9 August 2000);
Pollak v Valuer General [1999] NSWLEC 37 (26 February 1999)

DATES OF HEARING: 08/02/2006

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE: 02/08/2006

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: APPLICANT
Ms S A Duggan (barrister)
SOLICITOR
Kirkby & Associates Lawyers
RESPONDENT
Ms J K Murray
NSW Crown Solicitors Office

JUDGMENT:

THE LAND AND
ENVIRONMENT COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES

PRESTON CJ

WEDNESDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2006

31457 OF 2005

JASSLS PTY LIMITED V VALUER GENERAL

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: The applicant, Jassls Pty Limited, moves the Court by notice of motion dated 8 December 2005 for leave to appeal under s 38(2) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 (NSW) (“Valuation Act”) after the 60 day period for making an appeal provided in s 38(1) of the Valuation Act has expired.

2 The applicant relies upon an affidavit of Mr Stephen John Coulter sworn 8 December 2005 in support of its motion. Mr Coulter is the director and secretary of the applicant. I will return to the substance of Mr Coulter’s evidence in the course of the judgment.

3 Ms Duggan of counsel appeared for the applicant. Ms Murray, a solicitor with the Crown Solicitor’s Office, appeared for the Valuer General. Ms Murray indicated to the Court at the outset that the respondent neither supports nor opposes the applicant’s motion for leave to appeal after the 60 day period had expired.

Chronology

4 The applicant received its land tax assessment on 16 January 2005. The applicant’s land was valued at $2,000,000. The applicant, as it was entitled to do, lodged an objection to the valuation. This was done on 22 February 2005. There was then a lengthy delay whilst the Valuer General considered and resolved the applicant’s objection.

5 On 22 August 2005, the Valuer General wrote to the applicant disallowing the applicant’s objection. The letter of the Valuer General was received by the applicant on 24 August 2005. Of some importance in understanding the reasons for the delay in lodging the appeal is the fact that the letter from the Valuer General merely informed…

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.

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Details

Case: [2006] NSWLEC 59
Decision Date: 02/08/2006

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Jassls Pty Limited v Valuer General [2006] NSWLEC 59 involves Jassls Pty Limited, the applicant, and the Valuer General, the respondent, before the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The applicant sought leave to appeal after the statutory time for appealing had expired, under s 38(2) of the Valuation of Land Act 1916 (NSW). The primary legal issue was whether the Court should exercise its discretion to permit an appeal beyond the statutory 60-day period. This required consideration of factors such as the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the extent of any prejudice to the respondent, and whether the applicant had an arguable case.

Preston CJ examined the principles established in previous case law for extending the time for appealing. The Court found that the delay in this case was not excessive, given the applicant's efforts to understand and challenge the Valuer General's valuation and the failure of the Valuer General to inform the applicant of the 60-day statutory period. The reason for the delay was deemed reasonable, and there was no evidence of prejudice to the Valuer General. Moreover, the applicant had obtained a valuation report suggesting the land was worth half of the Valuer General's assessment, indicating an arguable case for appeal. Based on these considerations, the Court concluded that it was appropriate to allow the applicant to appeal beyond the 60-day period. Consequently, the Court granted leave for the appeal and extended the time for filing the appeal to 8 February 2006.

Orders