Melbourne City Link Authority v Teford Pty Ltd - [2001] VSCA 54

SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

COURT OF APPEAL

No. 7096 of 1998

MELBOURNE CITY LINK AUTHORITY
	Appellant
v.
TEFORD PTY. LTD.	Respondent

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JUDGES:	TADGELL, BATT and CHERNOV, JJ.A.
WHERE HELD:	MELBOURNE
DATE OF HEARING:	13 March 2001
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	2 May 2001
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2001] VSCA 54

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ACQUISITION OF LAND – Valuation – Of lessor’s interest – “Marriage value” – Whether open to Tribunal to allow increment therefor – Loss attributable to disturbance – Stamp duty on purchase of replacement property – Whether open to allow duty on third property when purchase price of first two exceeded value of acquired land ultimately fixed – Claimant’s valuer’s valuation not the criterion.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Appellant	Mr C.J. Delany	Garland Hawthorn Brahe
For the Respondent	Mr S.R. Morris Q.C.	Maddock Lonie & Chisholm

TADGELL, J.A.:

I have had the benefit of perusing in draft the reasons prepared by Batt, J.A. and agree with them and with the disposition of this appeal that his Honour proposes.

BATT, J.A.:

Introduction

This is an appeal from a judgment given in the Trial Division on an appeal on a question of law from a determination by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal of a disputed claim for compensation under the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 consequent upon the compulsory acquisition by the appellant Authority of land in Port Melbourne of which the respondent, Teford Pty. Ltd., was the owner and lessor. The amount of compensation determined by the Tribunal, $4,728,992.30, was made up of a number of components, of which market value at $4,185,000 was by far the greatest. In the Trial Division the appellant sought the setting aside of the award of compensation in respect of four components, namely:

Added marriage value (to use the Tribunal’s description)  $25,000
Executive time  $25,000
Stamp duty relating to the third replacement property   $90,750
Solatium, in so far as it exceeded the sum of $20,000  $80,000[1].
The appellant succeeded before the primary judge on the question of executive time, but otherwise the order of the Tribunal was confirmed. The appellant no longer pursues the question of solatium. Its appeal to this Court is confined to the components of marriage value and stamp duty.

[1]$100,000 was awarded.

The respondent is a company whose principal business is investment in land. The evidence showed it to be controlled by Dr. T.J. Beresford.

It became the registered proprietor of the subject land on 3 March 1993. The Crown Grant of the land to it was expressly subject to a registered Crown Lease of the land to a company now called CC Container Services Pty. Ltd. for a term of 21 years commencing on 15 September 1992. The permitted use pursuant to that lease was that of transport, container storage and maintenance depot. The lessee stored containers on the land and continued in occupation to the date of acquisition, 28 March 1996.

The subject land has an area of 7.389 hectares. An electrical transmission line easement effectively…

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: [2001] VSCA 54
Decision Date: 2 May 2001

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Melbourne City Link Authority sought compensation from Teford Pty Ltd for land acquired under the Transport Infrastructure (Acquisition of Land) Act 1973. The dispute centred on the valuation of the lessor's interest in the land, specifically the "marriage value" and the loss attributable to the disturbance caused by the acquisition. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The primary legal issues revolved around whether the Tribunal had the authority to allow for an increment in the valuation of the lessor's interest to account for the "marriage value." Additionally, the court had to determine if it was appropriate to permit the claimant to recover stamp duty paid on the purchase of a third property, given that the purchase prices of the first two properties exceeded the value of the acquired land. The court needed to decide whether the claimant's valuer's valuation was the appropriate criterion for determining the compensation.

The court held that the Tribunal did have the discretion to allow for an increment in the valuation of the lessor's interest to account for the "marriage value." This decision was based on the understanding that the "marriage value" was a legitimate consideration in the valuation process. Furthermore, the court found that it was permissible to allow the claimant to recover stamp duty on the third property, as the criterion for compensation was not limited to the claimant's valuer's valuation. The court concluded that the claimant's valuation could be set aside if it was deemed not to reflect the true value of the land.

The court ordered Melbourne City Link Authority to pay Teford Pty Ltd compensation that included an increment for the "marriage value" and allowed for the recovery of stamp duty on the third property. The specific amounts awarded were determined based on the court's findings regarding the valuation of the land and the appropriate criteria for compensation.

Orders