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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO.

Partition.

No. 9-1914.

25th February.

AN ORDINANCE to amend the Law relating toPartition.

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GEORGE R. LE HUNTE,

GovERNoR.

25th March, 1914.

DE it enacted by the Governor of Trinidad and.1) with the advice and consent of t1ie Legislativethereof as follows :

TobagoCouncil

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the PartitionOrdinance, 1914.

2. In this Ordinance the term:

" Court " means the Supreme Court ;

" Judge " means a judge of the Supreme Court , aild

" Rules of Court " mean any Rules made under theprovisions of the Judicature Ordinance, No. 34.

3. In a suit for partition, where, if this Ordinance had

Short Title

Iliterpretation.

Power tonot been passed, a decree formade, then if it appears to the

partition might haveCourt that by reason of

been Court to ordere i tti ofthe sdivisiomu,.

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2Ii1 No. 9. Partition. 1914.

nature of the property to which the suit relates, or of thenumber of the parties interested or presumptively interestedtherein, or of the absence or disability of some of thoseparties, or of any other circumstance, a sale of the propertyand a distribution of the proceeds would be more beneficialfor the parties interested than a division of the propertybetween or among them, the Court may if it thinks fit, onthe request of any of the parties interested and notwith-standing the dissent or disability of any others of them,direct a sale of the property accordingly, and may give allnecessary or proper consequential directions.

Sale on appli- 4. In a suit for partition where, if this Ordinance hadcation ofcertain pro.portion ofpartiesinterested.

not been passed, a decree for partition might have beenmade, then if the party or parties interested, individually orcollectively, to the extent of one moiety or upwards in theproperty to which the suit relates, request the Court todirect a sale of the property and a distribution of theproceeds instead of a division of the property between oramong the parties interested, the Court shall, unless it seesgood reason to the contrary, direct a sale of the propertyaccordingly, and give all necessary or proper consequentialdirections.

As to purchase 5. In a suit forof share ofparty desiriag not been passed, a

partition where, if this Ordinance haddecree for partition might have been

sal-. made, then, if any party interested in the property to whichthe suit relates requests the Court to direct a sale of theproperty and a distribution of the proceeds instead of adivision of the property between or among the partiesinterested, the Court may, if it thinks fit, unless the otherparties interested in the property, or some of them, under-take to purchase the share of the party requesting a sale,direct a sale of the property and give all necessary or properconsequential directions; and in case of such undertakingoeing given the Court may order a valuation of the share ofthe party requesting a sale in such manner as the Courtthinks fit, and may give all necessary or proper consequentialdirections.

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Authority for 6. On any sale under this Ordinance the Court may, ifparties it thinks fit, allow any of the parties interested in the

property to bid at the sale, on such terms as to non-paymentidel tobid.

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1914.No. 9. Partition.

of deposit, or as to setting off or accounting for the purchasemoney or any part thereof instead of paying the same, oras to any other matters as to the Court seem reasonable.

Section 32 of the Trustee Ordinance (No. 91) shall Application ofto apply to cases where in suits for partition the Trusto" Ordi-

7.-(1.)continue

nance No. 01.Court directs a division of the property.(2.) Where the Court, in a suit for partition, directs

sale instead of a division of the property, the Registrara Conveyance

of o sethe Supreme Court shall convey such property to the.purchaser thereof, and every such conveyance shall havethe same force and effect as if it had been executed by theseveral tenants of such property, being parties to the suit.

8. Any person who, if this Ordinance had not been passed, Partea tomight have maintained a suit for partition may maintain Partition suits

such suit against any one or more of the parties interested,without serving the other or others (if any) of those parties;and it shall not be competent to any defendant in the suitto object for want of parties; and at the hearing of thecause the Court mry direct such inquiries as to the natureof the property and the persons interested therein, and othermatters, as it thinks necessary or proper, with a view to anorder for partition or sale being made on further considera-tion ; but all persons who, if this Ordinance had not beenpassed, would have been necessary parties to the suit shallbe served with notice of the decree or order on the hearing,and after such notice shall be bound by the proceedings as ifthey had been originally parties to the suit, and shall bedeemed parties to the suit ; and all such persons may haveliberty to attend the proceednigs; and any such person may,within a time limited by Rules of Court, apply to the Courtto add to the decree or crder.

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9. Where in a suit for partition it appears to the Court Pooer to dii-

of the ai.vith'that notice of the decree or order on the hearingcause cannot be served on all the persons on whom that * ofh

notice is by the immediately preceding section required to in bpee,

be served, or cannot be so served without dispro-expenseportionate to the value of the property to which the suitrelates, the Court may, if it thinks fit, on the request ofany of the parties interested in the property, and notwith-standing the dissent or disability of any others of them,

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414, No. 9. Partition. 1914.

by order, dispense with that service on any person orclass of persons specified in the order, and instead thereof,may direct advertisements to be published at such timesand in such manner as the Court shall think fit, callingupon all persons claiming to be interested in such propertywho have not been so served to come in and establishtheir respective claims in respect thereof before the Judgein Chambers within a time to be thereby limited. Afterthe expiration of the time so limited all persons whoshall not have so come in and established such claims,whether they are within or without the jurisdiction ofthe Court (including persons under any disability), shallbe bound by the proceedings in the suit as if on theday of the date of the order dispensing with service theyhad been served with notice of the decree or order servicewhereof is dispensed with, and thereupon the powers ofthe Court under the Trustee Ordinance (No. 91) shallextend to their interests in the property to which the suitrelates as if they had been parties to the suit, and theCourt may thereupon, if it shall think fit, direct a sale ofthe property and give all necessary or proper consequentialdirections.

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rocerdings 10. Where an order is made under this Ordinancewhere serviccis di iensed dispensing with service of notice on any person or class

of persons, and property is sold by order of the Court, thefollowing provisions shall have effect:

(1.) The proceeds of the sale shall be paid intoCourt to abide the further order of the Court.

(2.) The Court shall, by order, fix a time at theexpiration of which the proceeds will be distri-buted, and may from time to time by furtherorder extend that time.

(3.) The Court shall direct such notices to be givenby advertisements or otherwise, as it thinksbest adapted for notifying to any persons onwhom service is dispensed with, who may nothave previously come in and established theirclaims, the fact of the sale, the time of theintended distribution, and the time within whicha claim to participate in the proceeds mustbe made.

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No. Partition.9. 1914.

1.) if at the expiratien of the time so fixed oruxtended the interests of all the persons in-terested have been ascertained, the Court shalldistribute the proceeds in accordance with therights of those persons.

(6.) If at the expiration of the time so fixed orextended the interests of all the persons in-terested have not been ascertained, and itappears to the Court that they cannot beascertained, or cannot be ascertained withoutexpense disproportionate to the value of theproperty or of the unascertained interests, theCourt shall distribute the prooeeds in suchmanner as appears to the Court to be most inaccordance with the rights of the persons whoseclaims to participate in the proceeds have beenestablished, whether all those persons are or arenot before the Court, and with such reservations(if any) as to the Court may seem fit in favourof any other persons ,whether ascertained ornot) who may appear from the evidence beforethe Court to have any pr'im'i facie rights whichought to be so provided for, although suchrights may not have beun fully established, butto the exclusion of all other persons ; andthereupon all such other persons shall byvirtue of this urdinance be excluded from parti-cipation in those proceeds on the distributionthereof ; but notwithstanding the distributionany excluded person may recover from anyparticipating person any portion received byhim of the share of the excluded person.

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11. Where in a suit for partition two or more sales are provision formade, if any person who has by virtue of this Ordinance O a'Ocoef y e galf s in

iof any of a vtbeen excluded from participa ion in the proceedsthose sales establishes his claim to partinipate in theproceeds of a subsequent sale, the shares of the otherpersons interested in the proceeds of the subsequent saleshall abate to the extent (if any) to which they wereincreased by the non-participation of the excluded person

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in the proceeds of the vrevious sale, and shall to thatextent be applied in or towards paymant to that person ofthe share to which he would have been entitled in theproceeds of the previous sale if his claim thereto had beenestablished in due time.

12. InR~equest },ymnarried

inant, orFrjon under

cieabiijty.

suit for partition a request sale may be madeforaor an underl-aking to pu."chase given on the part of amarried woman, infant, p raon oI unsouud mind, or personunder any other disability, by the next friend, guardien,committee in lunacy (if so authised by or1er in lunacy),or other person authorised to act on behalf of the personunder such disability, but the Court shall not be bound tocomply with any such request or underbaking on the partof an infant unless it appear that the sale or purchase willbe for his benefit.

18. For the pu poses of this Ordinance a suit for parti-Suit for paati-tion to iPnc~hde

shall include an action for sale and distribution of the,cn fr eaie tionmd di.etribu-tion of the proceeds , and in a suit for partition it shall be sufficient tonro~eA1t claim a sale and di tribution of the proceeds, and it shall

not be necessary to claim a partition.

ecote is ja- 14. In suit for partiion the Court may make suchati=n euiTY.order as it thinks just rospecting colts up to the tiie ofthe hearing.

15. The Partition Ordinance (Xo. 50) is hereby repealed.

Passed in Counoil this Twenty-fifth day of February, inthe year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fourteen.

lvp

HARRY L. KNAGGS,Clerk of he (owncd.

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