Thomas v Mercer

• Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
• Court: High Court (British Virgin Islands)
• Judge: Louisy, J.
• Judgment Date: 03 December 1969
• Neutral Citation: VG 1969 HC 1
• Docket Number: Civil Appeal No. 28 of 1968
• Date: 03 December 1969

High Court

Louisy, J.

Civil Appeal No. 28 of 1968

Thomas

and

Mercer

Appearances:

Todman for Plaintiff

Archibald for Respondent

Real Property - Possession of land.

Facts: The issue was whether the plaintiff was entitled to claim land. Evidence revealed that the land claimed by the plaintiff was occupied by B.H., A.M., T.M., AL.M. In 1945 the plaintiff visited the property and this caused contentions with the other occupants. The plaintiff could only justify claim by proving undisturbed possession for twelve years on showing a documentary title.

Held: He had no title and the time when he claimed he lived on the land the court found this not to be so. Plaintiff's claim fails.

1 Louisy, J.Shadrack Hodge owned fifty acres of land at Mount Fertile Estate. On his death, intestate, the land passed to William Hodge. William Hodge died, intestate, sometime before 1915, leaving ten lawful children: three of these children were males John Charles, ^th September, 1867; and Thomas Didimus, born 7 ^th October, 1881.

2 On the death of William, John Charles became entitled to the fifty acres of land. John Charles died leaving no heir, and Benjamin Hugh became entitled to the land.

3 It appears that all the children of William Hodge lived on the land, except Thomas Didimus, who left for Santa Domingo in 1928 and, sometime in 1940, after his return from Santa Domingo, he went to live on the land.

4 The plaintiff's case is that on the death of William Hodge, Benjamin Hodge took possession of only a part of the land; that his mother, Amelia Mercer, the sister of Benjamin Hodge, occupied a piece of the land; that he was born there in 1915. In 1945, his mother left the land and went to live at Sea Cow Bay. She left cattle on the land. He took care of them and he took care of the land also. In 1959, his mother made a gift of the land she had occupied to him at Mount Fertile Estate. He then took possession of the portion of land. On that piece, there were the following fruit trees: apple, soursop, mango, peas and coffee; he said he worked part of that land. In 1951, he occupied another portion of the same land at Mount Fertile Estate which he cultivated in grass. He said he left Tortola in 1956 for the United States of America, leaving his son, Daniel in charge of the two parcels of land. Whilst in the United States of America, his son wrote to him. As a result, he returned in January, 1958 to Tortola. He went to Mount Fertile Estate and found the grass pasture destroyed and the fence he had put around it destroyed also. He also found the fruit trees on the portion given to him by his mother damaged and the...