In the recently handed down decision of Sinclair Gardens Investments (Kensington) Limited v Christine Lesley Ray [2015] EWCA Civ 1247, the Court of Appeal considered whether a valuation decision of the Upper Tribunal (which was not a designated “guidance case”) ought to be followed by the First Tier Tribunal.
Lord Justice Lewison, with whom Lord Justice Moore-Bick and Lord Justice Kitchen agreed, held that the fact the Upper Tribunal had not taken the formal step of proclaiming the decision a “guidance case” is not determinative of its value for a subsequent tribunal.
Absent of guidelines laid down by the Upper Tribunal itself, the weight which is attached to the decision in question is a matter for the subsequent tribunal; which in turn is a question of fact, not a point of law.