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Part 2: Appendix 1 - Presenting your case to the VT

Valuation Office Agency

August 2
12:12 2022

Presenting Your Case To The VT

The following are some hints on presenting a case to the VT. Personal style and presence at the Tribunal can only develop with experience. Practice will usually make perfect and confidence will always be boosted by:

  • thorough case preparation
  • knowing what one is going to say
  • anticipating the questions likely to be put by the other side.
  • Considering the questions to ask the appellant to clarify or emphasize a point.

Remember, the VOA caseworker will be more used to appearing before the VT and will have an understanding of what the VT members require and look for. It is highly likely that the ratepayers representative will not possess this knowledge and may well have less experience of presenting cases at VT.

Your duty as expert witness is to the Tribunal whereas when advocating the case you are trying to present the best case possible for the VO. You should on both accounts see Section 7 Part 1 for further details of these roles

Being prepared and fully understanding your case, both strengths and weaknesses will enhance your credibility when presenting a case as an advocate or giving evidence as an expert witness.

Good documentation, coupled with a prepared and well produced case, will always provide the foundations necessary to enable any caseworker to speak with confidence. These tips will also help:

Distinguish between when acting as Expert Witness and Advocate

A caseworker is permitted to act as both advocate and expert witness at valuation tribunal, but the RICS professional statement Surveyors acting as advocates obliges you to distinguish at each stage which role you are undertaking. For example, stating I will now present my expert evidence and when finishing That now concludes my expert evidence

Assistance during a hearing

When a caseworker is giving their evidence as expert witness the opinion must be their own. Colleagues or advisers should not be prompting, giving advice or guidance during a hearing when a caseworker is giving their evidence or when they are being cross examined on their evidence.

When making submissions or counter submissions as advocate at a hearing, it is then permissible for colleagues or advisers to assist and give prompts/ advice to a caseworker, in the same manner that a solicitor/ client might instruct their barrister in the course of a hearing.

Reduce the points to be made to the minimum

Drafting a statement of case and skeleton argument [for the advocacy role] and proof of evidence [for the role of expert witness] well in advance will provide a caseworker the time necessary to edit a case down to the essential points that need to be got across. There is a limit to the amount of information that VT members can take away with them. Make sure they retain the essentials by not overloading the case.

Avoid undue repetition

In the formal presentation of a case there will be some element of going over the same ground. In the opening statement, the VT is told what is going to be said in evidence and submission. That evidence is then given and the advocacy made. In the concluding statement, the points made in the case are emphasised to the VT. Hence, the opening and concluding statements should not be overlong and give in outline only what will be said in evidence and submissions.

Be brief

A case and the evidence should be put concisely, but presenting and getting important points over should not be sacrificed to brevity. Obtain the balance needed to convince the VT, without losing their interest.

Speak with confidence

Stand up to address the Tribunal. Identify yourself (and introduce others, if required). As a witness, give qualifications and experience. Speak clearly, make sure the words are being heard and do not rush either the case or the evidence. There is a natural tendency to speak too quickly in a formal situation. Guard against this, but avoid the opposite extreme of sending the VT members to sleep!

Politeness and Court Etiquette

While the VT is informal in its procedure, bear in mind that it is the hearing of a legal appeal and so the normal etiquette appropriate to a Court should be followed. The members should be addressed as Sir/Madam. Remarks should be addressed to Mr/Madam Chairman (in some areas the term Chair may be preferred. In cases of doubt, ask how they wish to be addressed.). Collectively, the members should be referred to as the Tribunal.

Slang and Jargon

Do not use it. Beware of using technical terms and do not assume that the VT members will understand them. For example, explain how the zoning method of analysis and valuation works or how an area is reduced to in terms of main space, etc. The extent of your explanation depends on how well you know the VT members. Do not refer to VO form numbers or terms used internally in the VO.

Retain the attention of the VT members

The attention of the VT may be diverted or the members may start to discuss a point between themselves during a submission. If this happens, stop talking. A sudden silence in the room will soon be noticed and one should continue only when it is quite certain that the VT is listening once more (often by an indication from the chairman).

Be objective and impartial

The VO is looking to maintain an accurate rating list. So, giving the impression that a win at all costs is wanted must be avoided. The VT need to be convinced that the VO has approached the matter objectively and has arrived at the correct result by taking into account all the relevant evidence and giving it the correct weight.

Do not magnify the merits of your case

By all means present a case assertively and stress the strength of the evidence. But beware of overkill. It is not good to have the VT members saying to themselves, Methinks the VO doth protest too much!

If there is a flaw in your case, reveal it at an early stage.

No case is ever perfect and it is unlikely that the VT or the other side will miss or overlook a weakness in an argument. It always gives a considerably better impression if a flaw is admitted early on and an explanation given on how it has been allowed for or taken into account.

Be careful not to impugn the Rating List that of any other VO

The unhelpful comparable needs to be dealt with carefully and the response to it should be carefully prepared. A VO should not normally be heard to say that an entry in a List is incorrect, at least at the time it was made. It should be possible to support a case on the strength of the weight of evidence from both rents and comparables, with rents likely to carry the greater weight. Where a comparable is clearly out of line and cannot be distinguished, the VO should take action to alter the list. If time does not permit this, the VT should be informed that the issue will be investigated. Any suggestion of changing the goal posts by a wholesale review should be avoided. See ITM Corp v Mooney (VO) 1983 RA 145, quoted at E485 in Ryde.

Under cross-examination

Fully prepare for this by anticipating any questions likely to be raised. Identify weaknesses in the VO case and how they can be answered by admitting to the facts fully and truthfully yet at the same time drawing attention to any mitigating factors. Bear in mind the re-examination stage for this purpose if necessary.

Cross-examination of the other side

A golden rule is not to go on a fishing expedition. The wise advocate will know the answers to the questions that are going to put and the object is to allow the witness to provide them. Where such matters as the method of measurement or the basis and details of valuation are

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