Monti v Roads and Maritime Services - [2018] NSWLEC 34

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Monti v Roads and Maritime Services [2018] NSWLEC 34
Hearing dates: 19 March 2018
Decision date: 21 March 2018
Jurisdiction: Class 3
Before: Molesworth AJ
Decision:
Orders made 19 March 2018

1 That the hearing dates commencing 22 March 2018 be vacated.
2 That the date of 19 March 2018, as appearing in Order 8 of the Court Orders dated 12 March 2018, be substituted with date of 29 March 2018, and that the supplementary expert report/s referred to therein be filed before close of business hours on that date.
3 That any further joint supplementary reports prepared by the parties’ experts in the disciplines of blasting, geology, planning, quarrying and forensic accounting, be served before close of business hours on 10 April 2018.
4 That orders 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, as appearing in the Court Orders dated 12 March 2018, be vacated.
5 The proceedings be listed for directions before the Land Valuation and Compensation List Judge on Friday 13 April 2018.
6 Liberty to restore at three working days’ notice.

Orders made 21 March 2018

7 The Applicants’ costs thrown away due to the
vacating of the scheduled dates for the primary hearing are to be paid by the Respondent, with the final orders with respect to their quantification and payment to be determined by the Court at the conclusion of the proceedings.
8 The parties’ additional costs incurred by reason of the emergence of the After Case 2 scenario following the service of the Joint Expert Report dated 2 March 2018, be costs in the cause.
Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Notice of Motion seeking vacation of Class 3 hearing dates – tight timeframes – Respondent expert report late – prejudice to Applicants – application granted
Legislation Cited: Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 ss 55, 56, 59, 68
Cases Cited:
Thaler v Cooma Monaro Shire Council (No 2) [2014] NSWLEC 51

Aon Risk Services Australia Limited v Australian National University [2009] HCA 26, 239 CLR 175
Young v King (No 11) [2017] NSWLEC 34
Category: Procedural and other rulings
Parties: Allan Keith Monti (First Applicant)
Phillip Daniel Monti (Second Applicant)
Christopher John Monti (Third Applicant)
Roads and Maritime Services (Respondent)
Representation:
Counsel:
Ms Angela Pearlman with Ms Fenja Berglund (Applicants)
Mr Luke Waterson (Respondent)
Solicitors:
Stacks Law Firm (Applicants)
Clayton Utz (Respondent)

File Number(s): 21017/62470
Publication restriction: N/A

Judgment

This judgment determines the outcome of a Notice of Motion brought by the Applicants seeking, inter alia, that the dates for the primary hearing scheduled to commence on 22 March 2018 be vacated. At the hearing of the Motion on 19 March, I decided that the dates should be vacated and made six consequential orders. This judgment sets out the Court’s reasons for vacating the dates and makes further orders dealing with costs.
The primary proceedings were commenced by way of an Application Class 3, being an objection to the amount of compensation…

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: [2018] NSWLEC 34
Decision Date: 21 March 2018

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Monti v Roads and Maritime Services is a matter concerning the valuation of land compulsorily acquired for the purpose of the M4 Motorway project. The case was heard before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central issue in the dispute is the valuation of land that was compulsorily acquired by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), the respondent in the case. The applicant, Monti, contends that the valuation placed on his property was inadequate and seeks a higher compensation amount.

The primary legal issues that the court had to address were whether the valuation process was conducted in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions and whether the compensation offered by RMS was fair and reasonable. The court also had to determine the appropriate procedural steps to be taken following the emergence of new evidence that potentially impacted the valuation.

The court's reasoning was based on the need to ensure fairness and justice in the proceedings, particularly in light of the new evidence that had emerged. The court recognised the importance of allowing both parties to prepare adequately for the hearing, and therefore decided to vacate the scheduled hearing dates and reschedule them. The court also determined that the costs incurred by the applicant due to the rescheduling of the hearing should be borne by the respondent, RMS. Furthermore, the court ruled that any additional costs incurred by the parties as a result of the new evidence should be shared between them.

In summary, the court's orders included rescheduling the hearing dates, requiring the filing of supplementary expert reports by specific dates, and determining the allocation of costs between the parties. The proceedings were then listed for further directions before the Land Valuation and Compensation List Judge.

Orders

Orders of the court

Orders made 19 March 2018

1 That the hearing dates commencing 22 March 2018 be vacated.

2 That the date of 19 March 2018, as appearing in Order 8 of the Court Orders dated 12 March 2018, be substituted with date of 29 March 2018, and that the supplementary expert report/s referred to therein be filed before close of business hours on that date.

3 That any further joint supplementary reports prepared by the parties’ experts in the disciplines of blasting, geology, planning, quarrying and forensic accounting, be served before close of business hours on 10 April 2018.

4 That orders 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, as appearing in the Court Orders dated 12 March 2018, be vacated.

5 The proceedings be listed for directions before the Land Valuation and Compensation List Judge on Friday 13 April 2018.

6 Liberty to restore at three working days’ notice.

Orders made 21 March 2018

7 The Applicants’ costs thrown away due to the

vacating of the scheduled dates for the primary hearing are to be paid by the Respondent, with the final orders with respect to their quantification and payment to be determined by the Court at the conclusion of the proceedings.

8 The parties’ additional costs incurred by reason of the emergence of the After Case 2 scenario following the service of the Joint Expert Report dated 2 March 2018, be costs in the cause.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.

Medium Neutral Citation:	Monti v Roads and Maritime Services [2018] NSWLEC 34
Hearing dates:	19 March 2018
Decision date:	21 March 2018
Jurisdiction:	Class 3
Before:	Molesworth AJ
Decision:	Orders made 19 March 2018 1 That the hearing dates commencing 22 March 2018 be vacated. 2 That the date of 19 March 2018, as appearing in Order 8 of the Court Orders dated 12 March 2018, be substituted with date of 29 March 2018, and that the supplementary expert report/s referred to therein be filed before close of business hours on that date. 3 That any further joint supplementary reports prepared by the parties’ experts in the disciplines of blasting, geology, planning, quarrying and forensic accounting, be served before close of business hours on 10 April 2018. 4 That orders 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, as appearing in the Court Orders dated 12 March 2018, be vacated. 5 The proceedings be listed for directions before the Land Valuation and Compensation List Judge on Friday 13 April 2018. 6 Liberty to restore at three working days’ notice. Orders made 21 March 2018 7 The Applicants’ costs thrown away due to the vacating of the scheduled dates for the primary hearing are to be paid by the Respondent, with the final orders with respect to their quantification and payment to be determined by the Court at the conclusion of the proceedings. 8 The parties’ additional costs incurred by reason of the emergence of the After Case 2 scenario following the service of the Joint Expert Report dated 2 March 2018, be costs in the cause.
Catchwords:	PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Notice of Motion seeking vacation of Class 3 hearing dates – tight timeframes – Respondent expert report late – prejudice to Applicants – application granted
Legislation Cited:	Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 ss 55, 56, 59, 68
Cases Cited:	Thaler v Cooma Monaro Shire Council (No 2) [2014] NSWLEC 51 Aon Risk Services Australia Limited v Australian National University [2009] HCA 26, 239 CLR 175 Young v King (No 11) [2017] NSWLEC 34
Category:	Procedural and other rulings
Parties:	Allan Keith Monti (First Applicant) Phillip Daniel Monti (Second Applicant) Christopher John Monti (Third Applicant) Roads and Maritime Services (Respondent)
Representation:	Counsel: Ms Angela Pearlman with Ms Fenja Berglund (Applicants) Mr Luke Waterson (Respondent) Solicitors: Stacks Law Firm (Applicants) Clayton Utz (Respondent)
File Number(s):	21017/62470
Publication restriction:	N/A