Claimed
ownership of a $275,000 building lot in a Hamilton subdivision failed when the
purchaser found it had signed a contract with the owner’s father, not the owner
himself.
The High Court was told Pragma Designer
Homes Ltd signed up in August 2015 to buy lot 140 in Hamilton’s Teafields
subdivision for $275,000. Real estate
agent Harcourts acted on the sale.
Zidong Jiang signed as vendor. It
turned out that he did not own the property; it was owned by his son Zhou
Jiang. Matters came to a head when Harcourts
said “the owner” wanted to renegotiate the sale package, altering the deal to a
land and home package. There was some
evidence that foundations and floor joists were already in place. A lawyer acting for the Jiangs made reference
to “our client” in email exchanges with Pragma without actually identifying
whether the father or the son were “the client”.
Pragma lodged a caveat against the title
to lot 140 to protect its interest as supposed purchaser. A caveat prevents any further dealings in the
land without the caveat holder’s consent.
Associate judge Doogue ruled the caveat
invalid. There was no legal link between
son Zhou Jiang as owner and Pragma claiming to be the purchaser. Pragma’s claim that father Zidong Jiang was acting
as agent for or as trustee on behalf of his son failed.
Pragma
Designer Homes v. Jiang – High Court (13.04.16)
16.056