Lares (Appellant) v Lares and others (Respondents) (Trinidad & Tobago)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2019/0048

Jurisdiction

Trinidad and Tobago

Parties

Appellant(s)

Alfonsia Lares (also called Alphonsia Lares)

Respondent(s)

Leo Lares

Damiana Lares

Bernadine Abraham

Clothilda Joan Mohammed

Theodota Theodora Lares

Camilla Alexander

Issue

Whether the Court of Appeal was wrong to uphold the High Court’s decision that the Appellant was not in exclusive possession of the upstairs of the two-storey house and land at 21/23 Padmore Street, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago (the "Property") and whether it is possible to have adverse possession of part of a building in Trinidad and Tobago.

Facts

This is a property dispute. The Appellant has a one-ninth legal interest in the Property. The Respondents, along with two other defendants to the proceedings below, each have a one-ninth legal interest in the Property.The Respondents sought partition and sale of the Property. The Appellant counterclaimed that she had been in adverse possession of the Property for over sixteen years and/or that she had been in adverse possession of the upstairs of the Property since 1990.The High Court decided in favour of the Respondents and dismissed the Appellant’s counterclaim on the basis that the Appellant did not exclusively occupy the Property and/or the upstairs. Persons downstairs had access to the upstairs portion of the Property and the upstairs could not be considered as a flat that could be severed horizontally from the downstairs. The Appellant and the Defendants appealed to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the appeal. The Appellant appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Date of issue

3 May 2019

Judgment details

Judgment date

13 July 2020

Neutral citation

[2020] UKSC 19

Judgment links

Appeal

Justices

Lord Hodge

Lord Kerr

Lady Arden

Lord Kitchin

Lord Leggatt

Hearing dates

Start date

8 June 2020

End date

8 June 2020

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