Privy Council sets aside order to demolish house in Trinidad land dispute
The Board upheld a finding that a father promised a specific land section to his daughter but rejected her claim for equitable relief.
The Privy Council has set aside an order to demolish a nearly completed house in Trinidad, according to a report by the Times of India. The decision follows a long-standing dispute regarding 4.75 acres of land left by a father to his 12 children in a 1995 will.
The dispute involves Vashti Ramlal, who claimed her father promised her a specific portion known as the Land on the Hill. While the Privy Council upheld a trial judge's finding that such a promise was made, it ruled that no case of proprietary estoppel was established.
The legal conflict intensified in November 2016 when nine of the siblings filed a claim against Vashti, Omar Ramlal, and their son Ravi. The claimants sought damages for trespass and the removal of belongings, following the demolition of a Chattel House in February 2016 to make way for a new structure.
Lord Briggs, delivering the judgment on 23 February 2026, described the Court of Appeal's previous order to demolish the nearly completed house as "completely unexplained." He noted that the house had cost more than T&T$400,000 to build and that a survey showed the area occupied by the family was less than 1/12 of the total land area.
The Board concluded that the defendants had not established a case for equitable relief because reliance on the promise was not pleaded or proved at trial. However, the appeal was allowed to the extent of removing the demolition injunction and the declaration that the house was illegally constructed.
The injunction prohibiting further construction remains in place until further order. Lord Briggs noted that the land will eventually need to be partitioned or sold, provided any partition considers shares of equal value rather than just equal area.