In a judgment issued last week Monday, the High Court has set aside a Certificate of Allotment (COA) issued to three defendants by the Barbuda Council.
A High Court judge ruled on the dispute between Lynton Thomas, administrator for the estate of his mother Mellie Thomas, and several defendants including Mable Francis, Trevaughn Thomas, Rhonda Thomas-Naitram, and Terrance Thomas, over property at Airport Road in Codrington, Barbuda.
The case centred on whether a Certificate of Allotment issued by the Barbuda Council on January 2, 2022, to three defendants, held legal weight and whether un-probated wills could transfer property interests in Barbuda’s communal land system.
The property dispute has its roots in the 1930s when Stanley Thomas and his wife Mellie Thomas obtained permission to occupy land at Airport Road, where they built a family home, raising their eight children, including Lynton Thomas, Garfield Thomas, and Morrel Thomas – the mother of defendant Terrance Thomas.
After both Stanley and Mellie Thomas died in Canada, conflict arose over the property ownership, as Stanley Thomas had left an un-probated will devising “the house and yard” to Garfield and Morrel Thomas.
Years later, Garfield Thomas executed his own will in 2021, purporting to leave his interest to his children, Trevaughn and Rhonda, before his death in December 2021.
Following his father’s death, however, Lynton Thomas obtained Letters of Administration for his mother’s estate and sought to take possession of the property.
The dispute escalated in August 2023 when Lynton Thomas visited the property and discovered construction work being carried out.
According to the judgement, this work was authorized by Mable Francis, who had been appointed caretaker of the property by Garfield Thomas prior to his death.
In court testimony, Mable Francis said she had been acting as caretaker since 2004 on the authority of Garfield Thomas and later continued in this role under instructions from his children after his death.
She admitted to taking the names of the intended allottees to the Barbuda Council, which then issued the certificate.
Justice Byer noted in her judgement that the claimant had provided “clear and unchallenged evidence” of contributions to the property’s development over the years.
This included testimony that he and his sister had made the first additions to the original one-bedroom structure, expanding it to a four-bedroom layout, with another sibling, Preeston Thomas, producing building blocks for construction.
The judge found that Trevaughn and Rhonda Thomas “gave no evidence of having participated in the development of the property” prior to obtaining the Certificate of Allotment, only undertaking renovations in August 2023, well after the certificate had been issued.
In her judgment, the judge determined that while the Barbuda Council had authority to issue the certificate under the amended Barbuda Act, the document lacked procedural safeguards and proper investigation.
“The court finds that the COA, though on its face a document validly issued within an informal system, is of no probative value. It was issued in a context lacking transparency, consultation, and legal authority,” Justice Nicola Byer stated in her ruling.
The court found that the defendants had obtained the certificate based solely on un-probated wills of Stanley Thomas and Garfield Thomas, which had “no legal effect” in transferring property interests.
In dismissing claims of trespass on both sides, Justice Byer said the defendants’ entry and occupation were “carried out under the colour of what they believed was legal authority” while the claimant’s actions were “grounded in his legitimate position as administrator of the estate.”
The judgment ordered that “the property is to be dealt with by the Barbuda Council pursuant to the provisions of the Barbuda Act that are applicable at the time of death of Stanley Thomas and Mellie Thomas.”
