The first time most people come across an Expert Witness is when something has gone wrong and a legal dispute is about to unfold. This might be a divorce, a business split or a tenancy dispute, but it could be any manner of dispute where a professional with relevant experience, expertise and qualifications is needed to provide an expert opinion on a specific matter. An Expert Witness can be instructed by either the solicitors acting for the individual parties or by the Court.
The Court Service defines an Expert Witness as someone who “can provide the court with a statement of opinion on any admissible matter calling for expertise by the witness if they are qualified to give such an opinion”. This basically means that, as professionals, we must provide an expert opinion and then potentially stand up in court to be cross examined on our report, justifying our conclusions.
For us, as Chartered Surveyors and Agricultural Valuers, this usually involves the valuation of property where the opposing parties disagree about value. It might be our opinion on the value of a farm, some land, or it might be an assessment of the correct measure of compensation where damage or loss has occurred. It might also be where another professional has given incorrect or poor advice.
We were recently instructed to provide a valuation on a small holding where the house was subject to an agricultural occupancy restriction, but the buyer’s solicitor had failed to find this out before they purchased it. We had to advise on what the value of the property would have been if the buyer had known about the restriction in advance and, because of our evidence, the parties reached a settlement without needing to go to court.
Expert Valuation work is governed not only by our own professional body (RICS) but also by the Court Procedure Rules. The evidence should be well-founded in the form of an objective report and, above all, must be impartial. Our firm is fortunate to have a broad range of expertise within our professional staff and, as a multi-disciplined firm, we are actively involved in the valuation and sale of all forms of rural property, farm machinery, livestock and produce. This means that we know what is going on in the market place and can speak with authority about market activity and its effect on values.
In our day jobs we undertake a wide variety of valuations including loan security for mortgages, in advance of a sale or purchase and for tax reasons such as Inheritance Tax on death and Capital Gains Tax following the disposal of an asset. Whatever the reason, valuing is both an art and a science and is enormously interesting.