Trying to lever sister Liane out of a Northland house owned by a family trust, the High Court put eviction on hold awaiting evidence whether fellow sister Lena Henry and other trustees knew Liane had contributed financially on the understanding that the house was to remain a place for her to live.
A confused tale of extended family dealings was put before the High Court in an application to evict Liane Henry from a property at Cooke Street in Whangarei. In 2015, Liane signed up to buy Cooke Street for $220,000. The purchase was funded by her mother. Whilst Liane signed the agreement to purchase, title came to be registered in the name of her mother and husband. There was confused evidence before the High Court as to what happened subsequently. Liane thought she was the owner and weekly payments made to her mother were interest on a loan of the purchase price; her mother said weekly payments were rent. There was no tenancy agreement. Despite her mother saying payments were rent, there was evidence of persistent requests by her for repayment of the ‘loan’ so she and her husband could buy a property for themselves. To add to the confusion, Liane denied ever being asked to repay a loan.
Unbeknown to Liane, there was movement behind the scenes in 2020. Title to Cooke Street was transferred to a family trust controlled by Liane’s sister Lena. The transfer price was recorded as $440,000. A bank loan secured over Cooke Street was used by the family trust to buy a Maungatapere property with their mother and her husband given rights to live there. Six months later, Liane became aware that Cooke Street was now owned by a family trust. In the interim, she had kept up the regular weekly payments to her mother.
The family trust took legal action to evict Liane from Cooke Street, using the High Court fast track summary judgment procedure saying Liane had no defence to its claim for possession.
Associate judge Gardiner said it is undisputed that Cooke Street was originally purchased for Liane to live in. Liane arranged for substantial renovations and contributed to the cost. A full court hearing is needed to determine whether trustees of the family trust as current registered owners of Cooke Street were aware of Liane’s rights of occupation at time of the 2020 ownership change, Judge Gardiner ruled. Proof of their knowledge could lead to a damages claim against the trustees.
Awhi Trust v. Henry – High Court (26.06.23)
23.098