The principle that doubts should be resolved in favour of the dispossessed owner in compulsory acquisition cases does not relieve the judicial valuer of the obligation to engage with and evaluate competing expert evidence. Where legal error is found in a compensation assessment, the question of whether the error vitiates the decision remains governed by the Seatainer Terminals test (the error must be one upon which the decision depends), though the Court was divided on where the burden of persuasion lies. Section 61(b) of the Just Terms Act precludes stamp duty claims under s 59(d) where market value has been assessed on the basis of a potential use more valuable than the actual use prior to acquisition.
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