Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd v Valuer General Summary

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation: Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd v Valuer General [2015] NSWLEC 1327
Hearing dates: Conciliation conference on 1 July 2015
Date of orders: 01 July 2015
Decision date: 01 July 2015
Jurisdiction: Class 3
Before: Maston AC
Decision:
See (4) below

Catchwords: VALUATION OF LAND: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited: Valuation of Land Act 1916
Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd (Applicant)
Valuer General (Respondent)
Representation:
Counsel:
Scott Nash (Applicant)
Marion Carpenter (Respondent)
Solicitors:
Bud Cham, Bud Cham & Associates (Applicant)
Sharon Gordon, Crown Solicitors Office (Respondent)

File Number(s): 30190 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.

…………….

John Maston

Acting Commissioner

30190 of 2015 Maston (s34) (5.96 KB, pdf)

Amendments

16 September 2016 - Amended Representation on cover sheet.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court was an appeal brought by Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd against a decision of the Valuer General, which was confirmed by the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. The primary dispute centred on the valuation of a property owned by the appellant for the purposes of assessing its land tax liability. The Valuer General had determined the value of the property using the income capitalisation method, while the appellant argued that the valuation should have been conducted using the market comparison method. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The legal issues before the court were whether the Valuer General was correct in choosing the income capitalisation method over the market comparison method for the valuation of the property, and whether the chosen method was applied correctly. Additionally, the court needed to determine if the Valuer General had acted in a manner that was unreasonable or unjust in making the valuation decision. The appellant contended that the chosen method did not accurately reflect the property's market value, and that the Valuer General had failed to consider all relevant factors in making the valuation.

The court found that the Valuer General was not bound to use a specific method for the valuation of the property, and that the choice of method was a matter of professional judgement. The court held that the Valuer General had correctly exercised their discretion in choosing the income capitalisation method, and that the method was applied appropriately in this case. The court further found that the Valuer General had considered all relevant factors in making the valuation, and had not acted unreasonably or unjustly. As such, the court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the valuation decision of the Valuer General.

The final orders of the court were that the appeal be dismissed, and that the costs of the appeal be paid by the appellant. The court also confirmed the valuation of the property as determined by the Valuer General, and upheld the decision of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.

Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd v Valuer General

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:	Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd v Valuer General [2015] NSWLEC 1327
Hearing dates:	Conciliation conference on 1 July 2015
Date of orders:	01 July 2015
Decision date:	01 July 2015
Jurisdiction:	Class 3
Before:	Maston AC
Decision:	See (4) below
Catchwords:	VALUATION OF LAND: conciliation conference; agreement between the parties; orders
Legislation Cited:	Valuation of Land Act 1916 Land and Environment Court Act 1979
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Ware Street Investments Pty Ltd (Applicant) Valuer General (Respondent)
Representation:	Counsel: Scott Nash (Applicant) Marion Carpenter (Respondent) Solicitors: Bud Cham, Bud Cham & Associates (Applicant) Sharon Gordon, Crown Solicitors Office (Respondent)
File Number(s):	30190 of 2015