Cases - Shortlands Investment Ltd v Cargill plc
Record details
- Name
- Shortlands Investment Ltd v Cargill plc
- Date
- [1995]; [1995]
- Citation
- 08 EG 163; 1 EGLR 51 QBD
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Commercial property - property management - dilapidations - disrepair - negative reversionary value - construction - expert witness
- Summary
-
This is one of the few cases where the approach to valuation under section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 has been considered in some detail. In this case, it was suggested that there could be no loss because the building was alleged to have a negative reversionary value. However, the court held that there could be even greater negative value as a result of the disrepair.
In a claim for dilapidations when an office tenancy was terminated, the judge contrasted the demeanour and effectiveness of the respective expert witnesses giving valuation evidence. The defendants' valuer was:
'... an expert who came on the scene fairly recently. His evidence was strongly argumentative without always having the support of logic. He was very ready to draw inferences adverse to the [claimants] from documents which he read only after the event.'
By contrast, the claimants' valuer:
'... seemed to be a very honest witness as to the facts of which he had first hand knowledge ... he gave his evidence of opinion modestly and with a willingness to make proper concessions and his evidence appeared logical and sensible.'
The evidence of the claimants' valuer was preferred when there was a conflict of opinion.