George v Williams

• Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
• Court: Court of Appeal (British Virgin Islands)
• Judge: Lewis, C.J.
• Judgment Date: 03 November 1971
• Neutral Citation: VG 1971 CA 4
• Docket Number: Civil Appeal No. 3 of 1970
• Date: 03 November 1971

Court of Appeal

Lewis, C.J., Lewis, J.A., Bernard, J.A

Civil Appeal No. 3 of 1970

George

and

Williams

Real Property - Land — Possession

Appearances:

Keith Alleyne, Q.C. and J.S. Archibald for defendant/appellant

J. Rowan Henry, Q.C. and McW. Todman for plaintiff/respondent

1 1971, November 3

Lewis, C.J.

2 The case in, which this appeal is brought was a claim for recovery of possession of 41.7 acres of land situate at Lambert in Tortola. That portion of land formed part of some 70 acres of land which had belonged to one Samuel Williams. He was the father of the parties to this appeal, Edmund Williams the plaintiff and Alexandrine George the defendant, and also of another defendant in the suit Clingberg Williams, who died between the date when the judgment was reserved and the date when judgment was delivered.

3 Samuel Williams died in 1924 and according to the law which operated at that time in the Virgin Islands his estate passed to his oldest son, the plaintiff/respondent, as his heir. At the time of his death the respondent was not in the Virgin Islands, having left in 1916. His widow was entitled to dower and she took possession of the whole -property. Her daughter Alexandrine George and her son Clingberg Williams and another daughter occupied the land with her and cultivated it.

4 The appellant George stated in evidence that she occupied by her mother's permission. The widow died in 1933 and the appellant occupied this 41.7 acres while the brother Clingberg occupied the remainder, the two pardons being divided by a track over which there was a right of way. The brother Williams at some stage began to take objection to the fact that Mrs. George was renting out parcels of the portion of land which she was occupying and keeping the rentals for herself, and this led to a number of lawsuits between them. Eventually he applied for an order that the respondent, who had not been heard of for many years, was to be presumed dead and subsequent to obtaining that order he applied for and obtained Letters of Administration of the respondent's estate.

5 In October 1963 after the respondent's return to the Virgin Islands, he (the respondent) brought a case against the appellant's husband, Frank George and others, but not against the appellant for recovery of the land left by his father. A curious procedure was followed, the case being adjourned into Chambers and an order made by Mr. Justice Heyliger that Williams the administrator should give up all the land comprised in the estate of Samuel Williams which was held by him as administrator. Nobody seems to have observed that the Real Representative Act, Cap. 204 of the Revised Laws of the Virgin Islands, which by section 2 provides for the vesting of real property in a personal representative, did not apply to deaths...