IS EXPERT EVIDENCE WORTH THE EXPENSE?

In property settlement matters, one of the more difficult preparation tasks can be the Balance Sheet.  Parties are often at odds with the values to be attributed to certain items and this will generally result in the appointment of Single Experts to value even seemingly insignificant assets.  For that reason, it is not uncommon, and generally welcomed by the parties, to look to lay sources such as market appraisals for real estate or Redbook searches for motor vehicles and the like.  But what happens if no agreement is reached on values, the parties don’t reach agreement, and the matter proceeds to hearing with only lay evidence of valuations?

In Agosta & Haldane [2024] FedCFamC2F 935 the Wife sought to rely upon a Redbook valuation of the husband’s vehicle.  The Court found that such evidence was not admissible, as it is hearsay and an unqualified opinion.  It may have swayed the Court’s decision on this aspect of the case that the Husband argued that the Redbook valuation procured by the Wife was, inter alia, not of the same vehicle as owned by him but that it was a different model, had different features and had been driven a different number of kilometres, and that therefore it would be of no assistance to the Court.  Whilst this may have seemed like a ‘win’ for the husband the opposite would apply to medical records tendered in his case.  The husband argued that these were business records, which was accepted by the Court, however, no weight was given to those documents as the contents was not able to be tested by the Wife.

The credit of both parties was also called into question in this case with the Wife consistently denying knowledge of some matters until shown evidence to the contrary and then having to make concessions.