Zabariah Mohd Yusof FCJ:

A. Introduction

[1] This is the appeal by the appellant/defendant against the decision of the Court of Appeal (COA). The COA allowed the appeal of the respondent/ plaintiff and set aside the decision of the learned trial judge, who decided in favour of the appellant/defendant.

[2] In this judgment, parties will be referred to as they were in the High Court.

[3] The Federal Court had granted leave to the defendant for the following questions of law:

"1. Whether the Court, in interpreting the meaning of particular directions or conditions issued by a local authority in the exercise of its statutory power under s 70 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 , is in fact forming an opinion as to usages of any body of men or meaning of words used by particular classes of people, having regard to s 49 of the Evidence Act 1950 and as such the Court is entitled to rely on the opinions of persons having special means of knowledge.

2. If Question 1 is in the affirmative, whether the Court in assessing opinion evidence should give more weight to opinion evidence under s 49 Evidence Act 1950 than evidence under s 45 ."

B. Background

[4] By a Sale and Purchase