An application under the Partition Act sought partition and sale of a residential property jointly owned by three registered owners, while a related application alleged that one owner held her one-third interest in trust or constructive trust for another family member who had contributed financially to the property.
The court found no evidence of an express trust and held that the claim was barred by the Statute of Frauds.
The constructive trust claim also failed because the alleged contributor’s payments were analogous to rent and did not establish unjust enrichment or a causal link warranting a proprietary remedy.
As a co-tenant, the moving party had a prima facie right to partition and sale, and the hardship of relocation did not amount to oppression sufficient to deny that right.
The court ordered partition and sale of the property with accounting issues to be determined on a reference.
