Richards et Al v Jeffers

• Jurisdiction: Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Judge: Mitchell, J.
• Judgment Date: 21 April 1980
• Neutral Citation: KN 1980 HC 1
• Docket Number: No. 15 of 1977
• Court: High Court (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
• Date: 21 April 1980

High Court

Mitchell, J.

No. 15 of 1977

Richards et al

and

Jeffers

Appearances:

Cecil Byron for the plaintiff.

E. Walwyn for the defendant.

Real property - Ownership —The plaintiff as personal representation of the estate of the deceased claimed, from the defendant, a declaration that the plaintiff was entitled to the legal estate and beneficial interest in a parcel of land and sought to recover the land in question. Whether the plaintiffs were entitled to possession. The court accepted the evidence of the plaintiffs and found that the deceased was on the land in question and in possession of the particular area of the land in question which the defendant claimed from 1904. That the defendant had no right to possession. That the defendant by putting other persons into possession was liable to the plaintiffs. Damages assessed at $2,500.00.

Mitchell, J.

1 The plaintiffs, in their capacity as Personal Representatives of the estate of Mary Nisbett, deceased claimed against the defendant a Declaration that the plaintiffs are entitled to the legal estate and the beneficial interest in a parcel of land at Cotton Ground Village in the Island of Nevis bounded as follows:– On the north partly by a public road and partly by a house lot owned by the defendant, on the south by lands of B. Sargeant, on the east by lands of Frederica Ottley and on the west by lands of David Maynard and Adinah Woodley, and comprising an area of about 10,258.58 square feet.

2 The plaintiffs also claimed an Order for the cancellation of a Deed of Conveyance dated 25th January, 1973 made between the defendant of the one part and the said defendant and Olga Jeffers of the other part recorded in the Registry of Deeds in the Island of Nevis in Liber C.R. Volume 33 Folios 85 – 88.

3 The plaintiffs also claimed recovery of possession of the said parcel of land above described of which the defendant, they claimed was unlawfully in possession.

4 In their Statement of Claim, the plaintiffs set out certain facts on which they relied in support of their claim.

5 The first defence filed by the defendant was rather brief and in it he denied certain allegations which the plaintiffs had made in their statement of claim and asserted that the defendant and his wife were the legal registered owner, and I must note the use of the word registered of the land, held by Deed of Conveyance and recorded in Liber C.R. Volume, 33 Folios 85 to 88 and registered in the Register Book of Deed in the Nevis Circuit in the State of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla.

6 However, during the course of the evidence of the first named plaintiff, Beatrice Richards, counsel for the defendant asked leave of the court to file and serve an amended statement of defence. Leave was granted by the court to the defendant, to file and serve on the plaintiffs an amended statement of defence with an appropriate order for the payment of costs by the defendant.

7 In the amended statement of defence, the defendant then pleaded that he had been in undisturbed possession of a plot or parcel of land situate at Cotton Ground, Nevis for a period of over thirty (30) years.

8 This land is described in the Deed of Conveyance.

9 The defendant then set out certain propositions of fact on which he based that assertion.

10 The defendant also asserted in the amended statement of defence that the plaintiffs' alleged claim or right of action was and is barred by the Limitation Act, Chapter 45 and that the plaintiffs' right and title (if any) to the land were extinguished by virtue of the provisions of that Act.

11 The case for the plaintiffs was given in the evidence of the two (2) personal representatives of the Estate of Mary Nisbett, deceased, Beatrice Richards and Emeralda Sargeant and, also, in the evidence of Gwendoline Jones, Eulalie Woods and Eldon Jones, a Civil Engineer and Licensed Surveyor.

12 The case for the defendant was given in the evidence of the defendant alone.

13 Beatrice Richards said that she was the daughter of Mary Nisbett, deceased, and the sister of Emeralda Sargeant.

14 Mary Nisbett died in July, 1954 and her sister Emeralda Sargeant and herself applied for and obtained the grant of Letters of Administration of the Estate of the late Mary Nisbett on 5th May, 1976, No. 12 of 1976 as in Ex. “A”.

15 Beatrice Richards stated that when her mother Mary Nisbett died in July, 1954, she was in possession of the land described in the statement of claim and that her mother was in possession of that land for over forty (40) years. She was born in 1906 on the same land at Cotton Ground. Her mother had a house there and at that time there was no other house on the land.

16 Beatrice Richards and her older sister, Emeralda Sargeant grew-up on the land. Emeralda Sargeant was married and left that land after her marriage but continued to live in Nevis.

17 Her mother had a younger brother named Joshua Jeffers and he went to Santo Domingo.

18 Joshua Jeffers subsequently returned from Santo Domingo and came to live with them. Joshua brought with him a ten (10) year old son, Henry Jeffers, who is the defendant. They then remained with them for about six (6) months.

19 The evidence of Beatrice Richards revealed that it was only when Joshua Jeffers came back from Santo Domingo that she knew him.

20 After Joshua Jeffers and Henry Jeffers had spent the six (6) months with her mother, Mary Nisbett, they then went to live at Jessups Village in Nevis. Joshua Jeffers had married and he had set up his home in Jessups Village and had taken his son, Henry, the defendant, there to live with him.

21 Joshua Jeffers then came and asked Mary Nisbett for a plot of land on which to put a small house for the very son, Henry Jeffers, the defendant.

22 That, request is indicative of his acknowledging her possession.

23 Mary Nisbett agreed and she it was who gave Joshua Jeffers a house spot to the north of the land. This spot was marked out with some “barricada.” trees.

24 Joshua Jeffers then built a house on the land and put Henry Jeffers, the defendant, there to live.

25 At that time when Henry Jeffers went to live in the house built on the land which Mary Nisbett had given his father, Mary Nisbett was still alive.

26 Henry Jeffers, the defendant, did not spend much time there but left and went to Curacao. The house was left on the land and it is still there.

27 Beatrice Richards said very frankly that the land on which that particular house stands belongs to Henry Jeffers.

28 She was however, emphatic that “the balance of the land not marked out by the barricada trees belonged to her mother, Mary Nisbett”.

29 Mary Nisbett died in 1954 and for some years after her mother, Mary Nisbett's death, she (Beatrice Richards) remained there and “worked” the land with her daughter Eulalie and with her grandchildren. No one disturbed her.

30 She lived in St. Kitts for a few years from 1963 and during that time her sister, Emeralda Sergeant looked after the land.

31 About 1967, one Elma Parris put a tenant, one Daisy Nisbett in a house on the land. She had brought a house and put it on the land — not on Jeffers' land but on her land.

32 She went from St. Kitts where she was and asked Elma Parris as to who had given her permission to put a tenant on the land. Elma Parris informed her that it was Henry Jeffers.

33 She then went to lawyer, John Kelsick in 1967. Mr. John Kelsick left the country. After Mr. John Kelsick left the country she gave instructions to Mrs. Moore another lawyer, and after Mrs. Moore also went away she went to Mr. Cecil Byron, her present lawyer.

34 Letters were written to Daisy Nisbett and Elma Parris.

35 Beatrice Richards was 73 years old at the time of giving her evidence.

36 Under cross-examination it emerged that her mother, Mary Nisbett had given her the house in her will, tendered as Ex. E1-16.

37 It was said that not in 1967, that she heard that the land was surveyed.

38 The evidence suggests that the land was surveyed or 17th December, 1972. She then went to Mr. Eldon Jones, the Surveyor and he marked off Henry Jeffers land on the plan tendered as Ex.“F”.

39 At the time when Mr. Jones marked out the land at the top in Ex. “F”, there were some “barricade trees” there to mark out the land and after the survey was done Elma Parris went and pulled out the barricade trees.

40 Beatrice Richards said that when she heard that Henry Jeffers had surveyed the land she was in St. Kitts. She then went to Nevis and found the defendant, Henry Jeffers in Nevis. She spoke to him and asked him why he had surveyed all the land.

41 According to Beatrice Richards, the defendant replied that he had surveyed all the land to keep it for her because he “made to understand that her sister and her child were going to sell the land, so he did that to keep it for her.”

42 May I mention here that I had the opportunity of seeing this seventy-three (73) year old woman give her evidence and from the manner in which she gave her evidence and how she reacted to cross-examination, I was convinced that her testimony generally and this evidence as to what the defendant told her was not an invention or fabrication and that it was true or probably true and more probable than what the defendant himself said.

43 Emeralda Sargeant, also a daughter of Mary Nisbett and sister of Beatrice Richards, was 75 years at the time of giving her evidence on behalf of the plaintiffs.

44 She supported and corroborated the evidence of Beatrice Richards in material particulars and fortified the truth and, or, probabilities which could emerge from the evidence of Beatrice Richards.

45 She too, said that she had asked Henry Jeffers why he had surveyed the land. Henry Jeffers did not answer her.

46 Gwendoline Jones, daughter of Emeralda Sargeant gave further evidence on behalf of the...