The Court of Appeal upheld a proprietary estoppel remedy granting a 75% property interest and ordered the estate's litigation administrator to pay costs personally.
The Estate of Joseph Zabukovec appealed a trial judge's decision granting Judith Tomek and Joseph Zabukovec Jr. joint beneficial ownership of 75% of a property based on unjust enrichment and proprietary estoppel.
The Estate argued the trial judge erred in valuing the land and failed to consider Joseph Sr.'s contributions to the house construction.
The Court of Appeal found an error in the land valuation but declined to interfere with the remedy, citing the broad discretion in crafting equitable remedies for proprietary estoppel.
The court affirmed the trial judge's order as consistent with the parties' original intention for the house and house lot to be conveyed.
The appeal was dismissed, and the Litigation Administrator, Edward Waters, was personally ordered to pay costs due to acting in his own interest.
The court awarded a divorcing couple a 75% beneficial interest in a property owned by the husband's late father's estate based on unjust enrichment and proprietary estoppel.
The applicant Wife and respondent Husband, married in 1983 and separated in 2011, sought a beneficial interest in a 15-acre property owned by the Husband's late father (Joseph Sr.), who died intestate.
The Husband and Wife had built and continuously improved a house on the property, believing they would inherit it.
The court addressed claims of oral agreement, resulting trust, unjust enrichment, and proprietary estoppel against Joseph Sr.'s Estate.
The court found no oral agreement or resulting trust but established unjust enrichment and proprietary estoppel regarding the house, but not the entire acreage.
The claims were not statute-barred.
The court awarded the Husband and Wife a joint beneficial ownership of 75% of the property via a constructive trust, with the Estate retaining 25%, and granted the divorce.
Claim for ongoing weekly accident benefits dismissed as applicant's ongoing symptoms stemmed from pre-existing conditions.
The applicant was injured in two motor vehicle accidents and sought ongoing statutory accident benefits, including weekly benefits and medical/rehabilitation expenses, after the insurer terminated them in August 1992.
The applicant claimed ongoing disability due to physical injuries, aggravated multiple chemical sensitivities, and chronic fatigue.
The arbitrator found that the applicant suffered from longstanding pre-accident psychiatric and physical problems, including somatization disorder, and that she had substantially returned to her pre-accident level of activity by the time benefits were terminated.
The claim for ongoing weekly benefits was dismissed, though certain medical, rehabilitation, and transportation expenses incurred prior to the termination date were allowed.
The arbitrator declined to make a special award but granted the applicant her arbitration expenses.
