Sisters get challenge for land they occupied for over 50 years

Oct 28, 2012 News

Justice Dawn Gregory last week granted an ex-parte injunction in favour of two sisters for a property located East Half of Lot 4 Uitvlugt Front, West Coast Demerara, against a man holding a transport in the name of George Benjamin.
The Injunctions were granted on October 19, 2012 on an application by Jennel Jansen and Marilyn Jansen.
The two sisters alleged that the land on which they are residing was previously owned by their great grandfather, John Phero McPherson, who obtained his transport on April 8, 1893.
John Phero McPherson subsequently died and the plaintiffs’ grandmother and mother occupied a house on the land until they both passed away.
The sisters claimed that the two of them along with their nine other siblings were born in the house on the property and have lived there all their lives until their siblings acquired their own properties and left. Jennel Jansen also claimed that she subsequently constructed a flat concrete house on a part of the land and in which she now lives with her five children. Her sister Marilyn still lives in the family home along with her three children.
The sisters are contending that they have acquired rights over the property as a result of their possession of the land, and therefore the transport obtained by George Benjamin is not valid. Additionally, they are also contending that Benjamin obtained the transport by fraud.
The sisters have since discovered that Benjamin produced an Agreement of Sale, he claimed he entered into with the Executor for the Estate of John McPherson who died on 13th April, 1963 at age 76 years old, but they are contending that this John McPherson is not the same John Phero McPherson who previously owned the land. He was the brother of their grandmother.
Apparently two persons in their family were given the name John McPherson, but the younger John McPherson could not be the owner of the property, since in 1893 he was only six years old.
Additionally, the Executor Royston Avid McPherson who purportedly sold the land to George Benjamin was blind since 1994 and began using his thumb print but Mr. Benjamin produced an Agreement which was signed on September 3, 1999 and which had the signature of Royston Avid McPherson in perfect handwriting.
After Royston Avid McPherson died in 2005, Benjamin through his lawyer Mr. Benjamin Gibson obtained an Order from Justice Winston Patterson on December 13, 2006 under Section 35 of Deeds Registry Act Cap 5:01.
However, from all appearances the Applicant did not provide the judge with all the facts surrounding his Application. Subsequently, Benjamin used the Order of Justice Patterson to obtain Transport from the Registrar of Deeds on April 25, 2007.
On September 14, 2012, George Benjamin obtained a Writ of Possession from the Chief Justice against another sister Diana Howell and proceeded to try to evict the two sisters and their children off the land but when the facts were brought to the attention of the Chief Justice, he stopped the Marshal from evicting the sisters from the land.
The sisters then retained Mr. Lyndon Amsterdam, Attorney-at-Law, who obtained the Injunctive Order stopping Mr. Benjamin from interfering with the sisters’ occupation of the land and another Order preventing him from selling, mortgaging or in any way disposing or alienating the land.
Justice Gregory also ordered that all the parties should appear in her Chambers on November 20, on the adjourned date.

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Sisters get challenge for land they occupied for over 50 years

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