In the circumstances of the case, and given that the stores rented under the Cocoa Agreement are not equal in size to the store in question, and given the changes and special agreements that were made in relation to these stores, and in the absence of an appraiser's opinion, I did not find that I could rely on the Cocoa Agreement. In this context, and in continuation of what was stated in the procedural review above, and with the presentation of the Tzipora Skewers Agreement in relation to the Dana Store (an agreement, which was concluded, as stated, at a later stage) and taking into account the expert opinion of the parties, and especially taking into account the expert opinion of the court, I will demand the expert opinion of Ron.
The opinion of the parties' experts and the opinion of the decisive appraiser regarding the betterment levy
- According to the plaintiff's appraiser, the opinion of the decisive appraiser Barzilai determines a permit for full commercial use of 283.74 square meters (and not 150 square meters), a 10% improvement of the property as a result of the excessive use, and a proper rent rate of ILS 162 per square meter plus VAT. It was argued that the decisive appraiser's opinion is conclusive evidence in the form of a lease agreement in an adjacent property, a cocoa agreement.
Also in the same document, the defendant's appraiser was criticized for not bothering to explain why he changed the decisive appraiser's determinations, and even claimed a 20% improvement for catering to the factory as opposed to the 10% set by the decisive appraiser for commerce only. The plaintiff presented the opinion of the decisive appraiser as determining the betterment levy and presented a proper rent of ILS 162 per square meter plus VAT.
The decisive appraiser, Boaz Barzilai himself, in his decision of June 18, 2024, set a rent of ILS 162 per main square meter for irregular use.
In the cross-examination of the appraiser Avi Biron (the plaintiff's appraiser), he confirmed that the decisive appraiser's opinion deals with betterment levies and is customarily relied upon, and that it is a material figure, but claimed that market data are stronger than the decisive appraiser's determination. The appraiser Biron explained that the decisive appraiser's opinion referred to a determining date of 2022, which was outside the range of years that he was asked to examine: i.e., between the years 2016-19.