Poochoon et Al v White Ridge Farm Ltd

• Jurisdiction: Trinidad & Tobago
• Court: High Court (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Judge: Ventour, J.
• Judgment Date: 16 November 2010
• Neutral Citation: TT 2010 HC 284
• Docket Number: S 1069 of 2003
• Date: 16 November 2010

High Court

Ventour, J.

S 1069 of 2003

Poochoon et al

and

White Ridge Farm Ltd.

Appearances:

Mr. Devindra Rampersad for the claimant.

Mr. Kemrajh Harrikissoon for the defendants.

Real property - Adverse possession — Failure to show requisite intention to possess.

Ventour, J.

1 This action by the claimant against the defendants involves a claim for possession of a parcel of land situate opposite Light Pole No. 13, Mayo Road, Williamsville, Point-a-Pierre comprising of approximately one and a half acres but upon a recent survey by Harvey Ramrekha found to be comprising 0.8402 hectares, being portion of a larger ten acre parcel described in the Deed registered as No. 8660 of 1989 (“the said land”)

2 By Claim filed on June 12, 2003, Mr. Winston Poochoon sought from this Court the following relief:

1

) A declaration that he is entitled to the said land by reason of being in undisturbed and uninterrupted possession thereof for more than 16 years; 2) Damages for trespass to the said land on various days in May and July 2002 by the first defendant and in May and June 2003 by the first and second defendants; 3) Damages for assault by the first defendant acting by himself, his servants and/or agents; 4) An injunction restraining the first and second named defendants whether by themselves, their servants and/or agents from entering and or remaining upon the said land and/or from bulldozing and/or damaging and/or interfering with the same and/or the crops and/or plants and/or structures thereon; 5) An injunction restraining the first defendant whether by himself, his servants and/or agents from harassing, threatening, molesting, annoying, interfering with and/or in any way communicating with and/or gesturing to the claimant and his family and/or servants or agents; 6) Aggravated Damages; 7) Further and/or other relief as the Court may deem appropriate; 8) Costs.

3 The third named defendant, Whiteridge Farms Limited, derived its title and/or interest in the 10 acre parcel of land, of which the said lands are a part of, by virtue of a Deed of Lease from one Ms. Theodora Simmons. The first named defendant, Ronald Joachim, one of the directors of Whiteridge Farms Limited, disputes that the claimant and his family had been in occupation of one and a half acres of land for over 16 years and alleges instead that they were in occupation of three lots of land which his predecessors had rented from one Donald Dick and then from the third named defendant.

4 One of the major issues for the Court's determination therefore, is whether the claimant and his parents were in fact tenants of the said land and if they were not, whether the claimant had satisfied the requirements that are necessary for him to successfully claim possessory title to the said land.

THE CLAIMANT'S EVIDENCE

5 According to the claimant, his parents, Nandlal and Sheila Poochoon, have been in the sole undisturbed possession and occupation of the said land since 1962. The claimant asserted that he has always lived on the said land since his birth in March 1964. He grew up with his parents planting various fruit trees and rearing poultry and small animals on the land. After the death of his father in 1986 and the subsequent emigration of the rest of the family, the claimant continued to live on the land with his wife and two children and continued to use the land in a manner similar to his parents. The claimant has asserted in his witness statement that his parents never paid any rent to anyone for their occupation of the land.

6 The claimant alleged that the dispute with Joachim began on May 2, 2002 when he (Joachim) approached the claimant's wife on the said lands with four other men dressed in “Muslim garb”. On several occasions after this, Joachim came unto the lands, placed pickets, conducted a survey, and eventually cleared a portion of the land. This action, according to the claimant, resulted in the destruction of thousands of dollars worth of his fruit trees, other small plants, poultry and animal pens. According to a valuation conducted by Clifton Dookhoo on behalf of the claimant, this damage amounts to $19,600.00. The claimant did tender into evidence photographs of the destruction of his property.

7 The claimant has also claimed that Joachim used obscene, threatening and violent language towards himself and his family on July 1, 2002, July 3, 2002, June 1, 2003 and June 7, 2003 and that his family, particularly their small children, remain very traumatised and afraid to leave their home or to walk to school.

8 Four witnesses testified in support of the claimant's case. The first was Land Surveyor, Harvey Ramrekha, whose services were retained by the claimant in 2003 to produce a plan demonstrating his alleged area of occupation on the said land. Ramrekha's plan identifies an area of 0.8402 hectares that the claimant says that his family had occupied and the smaller portion of 1395.6 square meters representing the immediate occupation by the claimant. This witness admitted that the areas he measured were actually pointed out to him by the claimant. He also testified that there was some scattered cultivation outside the area immediately occupied by the claimant but that it was “open country” and he could not say who planted the cultivation or how long it had been there.

9 Another witness to testify on behalf of the claimant, Mr. Baijoo Ramdhan, who is 54 years of age claims to have known the claimant from birth. At paragraph 4 of his witness statement, he said that the Poochoons were in occupation of one and a half acres of land measuring 200 feet in frontage along the Mayo Road and 380 feet in depth. However, under cross-examination, he stated that he could not remember how much land Nandlal Poochoon had been occupying and that he never measured the frontage or depth of the lands.

10 Another witness for the claimant, octogenarian Harold Ragoonath who has admitted to living three-quarters of a mile away from the said lands testified that the land was planted with a variety of fruit trees but he was unable to state who planted the trees and at what time. Seventy year old Sam Pirali, also living three-quarters of a mile away from the said lands, claims to have known the claimant's father and assisted him in clearing a piece of land in 1973 in order to build a house. He also attests to the fact that there was a number of fruit trees “around the house spot” (paragraph 4). At paragraph 6, he says that there were also fruit trees “beyond the yard going up a hill.” He does not say whether those trees were planted by the claimant or his parents. This witness also admitted that after the 1970's, he “never really went back unto the lands.”

11 These witnesses all speak to the supposed area of occupation by the claimant and his family but not to the issue of whether the claimant's parents were tenants.

THE DEFENDANT'S EVIDENCE

12 The First Named defendant claimed that in 1989, he began planting coconuts, mangoes, oranges, bananas, and short crops such as patchoi and lettuce after he had graded the lands. This was done in and around the vicinity of the three lots of land that the claimant occupied. He also denied that any of the trees on the claimant's three lots of land were damaged and that he used any intimidating tactics or bullied the claimant or his family.

13 The Defence also submitted a witness statement from Krishna Parahoo, one of the Directors of the Second Named defendant, KBK Transport and General Contracting Limited. This witness has denied at paragraph 8 of his statement that neither himself nor his workmen destroyed any vegetable garden nor fruit trees as alleged by the claimant.

14 In order to prove his allegation that the claimant's parents were tenants, the first named defendant relied principally on the testimony of Mr. Donald Dick. Dick's father, John Joseph Simmonds, appointed him (Dick) caretaker of the Cardiff Estate, an area of land which included the 10 acre parcel of land leased to Whiteridge Farms Limited. According to this witness, Nandlal and Sheila Poochoon lived with Winston's sister, Soogania Poochoon and her common law husband, Roy Joachim in another parcel of land close to the said lands. Donald Dick testified that in 1970, the claimant, when he was about four years old, came unto the three lots of land of the ten acre parcel with his parents Nandlal and Sheila. Donald Dick claims that he rented three lots of land to the claimant's father at $15.00 per lot. One lot was to be used for a house spot and the other two lots for agriculture.

15 Donald Dick also testified that his half brother Joseph Simmonds filed a High. Court Action against him and the claimant's parents to prevent them from re-building their house that was on the said lands. This court action failed and Nandlal and Sheila were allowed to re-build their house. The claimant has admitted to hearing about this High Court Action from his mother Sheila Poochoon. After the death of Nandlal Poochoon in 1986, Donald Dick alleges that Sheila Poochoon paid rent to him up until 1990. Donald Dick also testified that...