Mei-Hui Yeh v Iluer Barrientos
| Jurisdiction | Belize |
| Judge | Farnese, J |
| Judgment Date | 03 October 2024 |
| Court | Supreme Court (Belize) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Docket Number | CLAIM No. CV 711 of 2020 |
CLAIM No. CV 711 of 2020
IN THE SENIOR COURTS OF BELIZE
IN THE HIGH COURT OF BELIZE
Brandon S. Usher for the Claimant
Andrea McSweaney McKoy for the Defendants
Mr. Iluer Barrientos and Mr. Victor Manuel Barrientos Gameros (the Barrientos) are in possession of a parcel of land to which Mrs. Mei-Hui Yeh holds title. She is suing for possession of the parcel, rental arrears, and mesne profits. She also claims that the defendants have not complied with the terms of their rental agreement.
The Barrientos filed a counterclaim asserting a right to title to the property by way of adverse possession. They contend that Mrs. Yeh was either issued her title by mistake or her title is subject to an overriding interest in favour of Mr. Victor Barrientos. They further claim that the lease agreement is unenforceable because it was signed by Mr. Iluer Barrientos, who does not reside on the property, without Mr. Victor Barrientos' consent.
For the reasons provided below, I find that the Barrientos have failed to prove that they have acquired rights to the property through adverse possession. After reviewing the evidence and submissions presented in this case, I find that it is more likely than not that the Barrientos had permission to be on the property.
Do the Barrientos have rights in the disputed property through adverse possession?
Mrs. Yeh inherited title to Parcel 4069, Block 20, Belmopan Registration Section from her late husband, Mr. Jung-Chao Yeh (Pastor Yeh). Pastor Yeh died in 2014. Title to the property was registered in Mrs. Yeh's name in 2017. Pastor Yeh purchased the property from Mr. Chang in 2006. Mr. Chang did not testify so the court has no first-hand account of the circumstances of the sale between Pastor Yeh and Mr. Chang. There is no dispute that Pastor Yeh purchased the property with a small wooden house and some fruit trees present. The parties dispute who constructed the house and planted the trees.
Mr. Victor Barrientos is Mr. Iluer Barrientos Gameros' father. They allege that they moved onto the property in 2000 after Mr. Victor cleared the land and constructed a small, thatch-roofed house. Mr. Victor testified that he began working next to the property in 1990 and never saw anyone on the overgrown parcel. He decided to move his family on to the property because he considered it abandoned. The Barrientos say that Mr. Victor has lived uninterrupted on that property ever since and currently has 3 homes on the property. Mr. Iluer states that he has not lived on the property since 2002.
The Barrientos make two claims regarding how Mr. Victor acquired rights through adverse possession. First, they assert that Mr. Victor had acquired rights to the property before title was transferred to Mrs. Yeh. Consequently, Mrs. Yeh obtained her title either by mistake or her title is subject to Mr. Victor's over-riding interest. Under subsection 31(1)(f) of the Registered Land Act (RLA), 1 Mrs. Yeh's title is subject to any interest “acquired or in the process of being acquired by virtue of any law relating to limitation or prescription.” 2 In the alternative, the Barrientos argue that Mr. Victor acquired rights through adverse possession after Mrs. Yeh became the property's registered owner.
The RLA requires that a person be in “open, peaceful and uninterrupted possession” for 12 years to obtain rights to private property through adverse possession. The test for proving adverse possession, as established by the Caribbean Court of Justice, is as follows: 3
…a claimant to land by adverse possession needs to show that for the requisite period he (and any necessary predecessor) had (i) a sufficient degree of physical custody and control of the claimed land in the light of the land circumstances (Factual Control), and (ii) an intention to exercise such custody and control on his own behalf and for his own benefit independently of anyone else, except someone engaged with him in a joint enterprise on the land (Intention to Possess)…There must be an intention to make full use of the land in a way in which an owner would.
The possession must also be without the consent of the landowner. Mr. Victor has the burden to prove that he has acquired rights to the property as he claims.
The Barrientos have proven, on a balance of probabilities, that Mr. Victor and his family moved onto the property in 2000 and have lived there ever since. The weight of evidence does not support Mrs. Yeh's claim that Pastor Yeh purchased the property with an unoccupied board house built by Mr. Chang. I find that the house was built by Mr. Victor. Mr. Levi Tello testified that he visited the
The Barrientos, however, have not proven that they possessed the property prior to 2000. Mr. Victor testified that he moved to the area in 1990 and observed that no one was on the property for 10 years before he decided to move his family there. While I accept his evidence that he cleared brush and planted a few fruit trees starting in 1996 or 1997, I find those actions were taken with the intention of future possession. Mr. Barrientos testified that he was waiting to see if the true owner would appear before he moved his family on to the land.
Therefore, the Barrientos have proven that Mr. Victor met the requisite time to acquire rights to the property through adverse possession in 2012, 5 years before Mrs. Yeh became the property's registered owner. If they satisfy the remainder of the test, Mrs. Yeh's interest in the property would be subject to Mr. Victor's over-riding interest and Mr. Victor would be entitled to have the title rectified to list his name as the registered owner. 4
The claim that Mrs. Yeh's title was issued by mistake, however, is unfounded. The Barrientos have not contested that Mrs. Yeh is the lawful beneficiary of Pastor Yeh's estate, including the disputed property. For the title to have been issued by mistake, Mr. Barrientos would have had to have asserted and proven his adverse possession claim prior to the transfer of title to Mrs. Yeh. The evidence establishes that Mr. Victor did not apply to the Registrar for recognition of his adverse possession of the property until 2020.
Although whether the Barrientos had permission to be on the property is disputed, that they have custody and control of the property is conceded by Mrs. Yeh's pleadings and her testimony. Mrs. Yeh's evidence is that she has been excluded from the property and her efforts to evict the Barrientos have been unsuccessful. She also...
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