Lynda Riley Claimant v Dominique Carla Kelly (Administratrix of the Estate of Ian Errol Kelly, dec'd) Defendant [ECSC]
| Jurisdiction | St Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Judge | Thom, J |
| Judgment Date | 22 December 2006 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [2006] ECSC J1222-2 |
| Docket Number | HIGH COURT CIVIL CLAIM NO. 474 OF 2004 |
| Court | High Court (Saint Vincent) |
| Date | 22 December 2006 |
THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
HIGH COURT CIVIL CLAIM NO. 474 OF 2004
This is a claim for revocation of a Grant of Letters of Administration.
In 2003 the Claimant, a British citizen and one Ian Errol Kelly deceased who was a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lived in a common law union in the United Kingdom. Towards the end of 2003 they decided to emigrate to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
A quantity of household items and vehicles were purchased and shipped to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. All of these items were imported into Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the name of Ian Kelly. The vehicles were registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the name of Ian Kelly. As a returning citizen Ian Kelly was not required to pay import duties on the items.
In November 2003 a parcel of land at Biabou in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was purchased. The land was registered in the name of Ian Kelly. The purchase price of the land being seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000). A promissory note was executed by Ian Kelly in favour of the Claimant in the sum of thirty-seven thousand and five hundred dollars ($37,500).
On April 9, 2004 Ian Kelly died. In October 2004 the Defendant, the daughter of Ian Kelly obtained a grant of Letters of Administration grant No. 213 of 2004. This grant included the said property as part of the estate of Ian Kelly deceased.
The Claimant instituted these proceedings seeking inter alia an order revoking so much of the grant of Letters of Administration No. 213 of 2004 as embody or refer to the said property and a declaration that the Claimant is the sole owner of the said property and is entitled to possession of the said property.
The Defendant in her defence alledged that the Claimant having signed the promissory note is estopped from alleging that she is the owner of the property and in her counterclaim seeks inter alia a declaration that Ian Kelly deceased was the owner of the property, that the Claimant gives an account of the personal estate of Ian Errol Kelly and loss of use of $66,150, and possession of the motorcycle and Vauxhall motor vehicle.
The Claimant testified on her own behalf and called three witnesses being Attorneys-at-Law Mr. Ronald Jack, Mr. Grant Connell and Mr. Carlyle Dougan Q.C.
Mrs. Carmen Kelly the mother of Ian Kelly deceased testified on behalf of the Defendant.
The evidence on behalf of the Claimant is that the Claimant is a British citizen. She was married to one Jack Morris, that marriage ended in divorce. As part of the divorce settlement the Claimant's husband Jack Morris paid her One Hundred Thousand pounds (£100,000) for herself and the children. The Claimant subsequently had an intimaterelationship with Ian Errol Kelly deceased a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and who was resident in the United Kingdom and was employed as a concierge at the White Friars Council. Towards the end of 2003 they decided to emigrate to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In November 2003 they decided to purchase two contiguous parcels of land at Biabou and met with Attorney-at-Law Mr. Ronald Jack who was the legal representative of the vendor. Mr. Ronald Jack advised that since the Claimant was not a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines title to the property could be registered in the name of Ian Kelly deceased until they were married and the Claimant was registered as a citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Mr. Jack also recommended that a promissory note in the sum of $37,500 being one half of the purchase price should be executed by Ian Kelly in favour of the Claimant. The Claimant and Ian Kelly acted on this advice and the title deed for the said property was registered in the name of Ian Kelly and a promissory note in the sum of $37,500 was executed by Ian Kelly in favour of the Claimant. The Claimant paid the purchase price of $75,000, the legal fees and the stamp duty from the £100,000 settlement she had received from her husband Jack Morris. A sum of $265,974.00 was transferred from the United Kingdom to the National Commercial Bank in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on October 9, 2003. They purchased several personal items, and motor vehicles in the United Kingdom using money from the settlement and shipped same to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines by Ian Kelly and the vehicles were registered in the name of Ian Kelly.
A strained relationship developed between the Claimant and Mrs. Carmen Kelly. On the 6th day of February 2004 the Claimant instituted Claim No. 73 of 2004 against Ian Kelly in which she sought inter alia an order for sale of the said property or in the alternative an order that the said property be transferred to her subject to her obtaining an Alien's Landholding License for same. This claim was discontinued on February 23, 2004 after Ian Kelly deceased in the presence of Mr. Carlyle Dougan Q.C. and Mr. Grant Connell agreed to vest the property in the name of the Claimant after the marriage.
Using monies from the said account at the National Commercial Bank the Claimant and Ian Kelly deceased commenced construction of a concrete dwelling house on the said property.
Ian Kelly died on April 7, 2004 before the Claimant and Ian Kelly got married. The Claimant then shipped the personal items and two of the vehicles, a motor cycle and a jeep back to the United Kingdom.
The evidence on behalf of the Defendant is that Ian Kelly deceased had bought a quantity of items from the United Kingdom including dining room set, vacuum cleaner, electric organ, valued at $5,635.33. The items along with a motor cycle and a jeep which belonged to the deceased were shipped to the United Kingdom by the Claimant. The said property at Biabou was owned solely by the deceased who borrowed the sum of $37,500 from the Claimant to purchase the said property. The deceased while he resided in the United Kingdom was employed at White Friars Council and received a salary of £18,000 per annum. His bank account into which his salary was deposited was tendered into evidence. Mrs. Carmen Kelly also testified that he, Ian Kelly deceased, received a substantial gratuity/severance package from his employer before he emigrated to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Having seen and heard the witnesses and having examined the documentary evidence I believe the testimony of the Claimant. The Claimant's testimony that she received £100,000 as part of her divorce settlement and that from that sum, the sum of $265,974 was transferred to an account at the National Commercial Bank in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was not contradicted. Her testimony that the purchase price for the property of $75,000 was paid from the $265,974 and that all of the personal items that were purchased in the United Kingdom were purchased with her money was also not contradicted. Indeed all three of the Lawyers, Mr. Ronald Jack, Mr. Grant Connell and Mr. Carlyle Dougan Q.C. all testified that the deceased Ian Kelly had agreed that the land was purchased with the Claimant's money. On the other hand the sole witness for the Defendant Mrs. Carmen Kelly stated under cross-examination that she did not live with theClaimant and the deceased, in fact she testified that they lived approximately 80 to 90 miles away from her and she was not aware of their personal affairs. She was not present when the items were purchased and so she does not know whose money was used to purchase the items. She also testified that she was not present when the arrangement was made for the purchase of the land and she does not know whose money was used for the purchase of the land.
The issues that arise for determination are:
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(1) Whether the Claimant is the sole owner of the said property as the property forms part of the estate of Ian Kelly.
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(2) Whether the personal property and motor vehicles referred to in the counterclaim were the property of Ian Kelly at the date of his death.
The Claimant's case is that she is the sole owner of the land and Ian Kelly deceased held the land as a trustee for her, while the Defendant's case is that the deceased was the sole owner of the land and he had borrowed $37,500 from the Claimant to purchase the property.
Learned Queen's Counsel for the Claimant submitted that Alien (Landholding Regulation) Act makes no absolute prohibition against the holding of land by an unlicensed alien but it merely provides that the alien's title to the land would be voidable at the instance of the Crown. In support of this proposition Learned Queen's Counsel referred the Court to the decision of the Privy Council in the case ofYoung v Bess [1995] 46 W.I.R. p. 165.
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