McGeary v Richmond Valley Council [2012] NSWLEC 204

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: McGeary v Richmond Valley Council [2012] NSWLEC 204 Hearing dates: 3 September 2012 Decision date: 06 September 2012 Jurisdiction: Class 3 Before: Biscoe J Decision: Compensation determined in the sum of $57,657. Costs are reserved. Catchwords: COMPULSORY ACQUISITION - disputed claim for decrease in value of retained land - disputed claim for disturbance loss being cost of a quantity surveyor's report regarding replacement cost of water tank on acquired land where the applicants abandoned a claim for that replacement cost. Legislation Cited: Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 ss 55, 56 Category: Principal judgment Parties: William Owen McGeary (First Applicant) Marie Frances McGeary (Second Applicant) Richmond Valley Council (Respondent) Representation: COUNSEL: Mr M Hadley (Applicants) Ms A Pearman (Respondent) SOLICITORS: McInnes Legal (Applicant) Hannigans (Respondent) File Number(s): 31168/11

Judgment 1This is a relatively small claim for compensation for the compulsory acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (Just Terms Act). 2The claim has three components. First, the market value of the acquired land: s 55(a). Secondly, disturbance losses: s 55(d). Thirdly, decrease in the value of the retained land: s 55(f). Prior to the hearing the parties agreed that the market value of the acquired land at the acquisition date was $25,000 and the respondent agreed $8,657 of the applicants' claimed disturbance losses. In the result, only two items remain in dispute and their resolution lies within a narrow factual compass: (a)a claim in the sum of $24,000 for decrease in the value of the retained land; and (b)a disturbance loss item in the sum of $4,950.