Telecoms engineer working on rooftop antenna equipment above a city skyline

Expert Witness and ADR

Need guidance navigating a telecoms dispute?
Since the new Code, referrals to the Upper Tribunal have risen sharply, and legal points once settled by rare court cases are now regularly tested. Our expert witnesses provide the valuation and technical evidence that hold up in Tribunal, from written ADR opinion through to oral evidence when it’s genuinely needed.

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Evidence for telecoms disputes and valuations

Our telecoms expert witness team helps landowners navigate a fast-changing dispute landscape. Old Code disputes rarely reached court, fewer than a handful in 30 years. Since the new Code arrived in 2017, referrals to the Upper Tribunal have risen sharply to around 1,000 cases. Several legal points remain untested, so further applications will likely need expert opinion, particularly on valuation.

Written evidence now settles most disputes, rather than oral testimony in court. The RICS developed this Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process. We build our telecoms expert witness reports to withstand scrutiny, whether the dispute concerns rent, terms or site value.

In 2020, Tom Bodley Scott, Company Director, acted as Expert Witness on Valuation across three sites, two greenfield and one rooftop. All three trials tested the valuation methodology thoroughly.

KEY CONTACTS

Tom Bodley Scott
MRICS FAAV
Tunbridge Wells

01892 509280

Email Tom

Common questions about telecoms expert witness and ADR.

An expert witness gives an independent, professional opinion on a disputed issue, usually valuation, rent or terms, that a Tribunal or court can rely on. Their role is to assist the Tribunal with an honest, evidenced opinion, not to argue one side’s case.

No, most don’t. Since the new Code, the majority of disputes are resolved through written expert evidence as part of the RICS’s Alternative Dispute Resolution process, rather than a court hearing. Oral evidence in court is now the exception rather than the norm.

Valuation under the new Code is based on the underlying land value, not what the site is worth to the operator, and this is often the central point of disagreement. An expert witness sets out and defends that valuation methodology if it’s challenged.

An expert witness gives evidence that can be used at Tribunal if a dispute proceeds that far. ADR is a route to resolving the dispute before it gets there, usually through written expert opinion exchanged between both sides. The two often work together, the same evidence can support either route.

If a dispute can’t be resolved through ADR, it may go to the Upper Tribunal, where each side’s expert evidence is tested and a decision is made. Having evidence prepared to withstand that scrutiny from the outset gives you the strongest position either way.