carpenter nor masons had any amounts of money in their witness statements.
She had also paid for the valuation of the house on April 21, 2008. It was valued
at $5,800,000.00 for the land and building on the open market and $8,200,000.00
was assessed as the replacement cost of the building.
[103] Mr. Gordon and Mr. Henry stated that they were paid by the claimant and in her
absence they were paid by a Mr. Keith Gordon but never by the 2
nd
defendant.
They also testified that the claimant purchased and dealt with the supply of the
materials. Mr Gordon however stated that he did not know where the
claimant got the money to buy the material or to pay him and he knew
nothing of any arrangement between the claimant and the defendants
concerning the building of the house. He also stated that he stayed at the
premises for about six months and all the material he used was bought at
Jointwood Hardware and a block factory opposite to the hardware. He
accompanied the claimant when she paid for the items but he does not know of
cement being bought in St. Ann.
[104] It should be noted that although these two witnesses testified that they were paid
by the claimant, they were unable to speak definitively to the source of the
money. Mr. Gordon also admitted that he did not know of any arrangement
between the parties concerning the construction of the house.
The Evidence of Mr. Fitzroy Baugh
[105] Mr. Fitzroy Baugh stated that he supplied the claimant with goods such as
cement and other materials for the construction of the house in or about 2006.
These materials he delivered personally most times and to his certain knowledge
all of the goods he supplied to the claimant were delivered at the construction
site at Cooks Bottom. She paid him in cash or sent money via Western Union.
The 2
nd
defendant on only one occasion purchased and paid for 10 bags cement.
On other occasions she purchased materials but told him that the claimant would
pay for them. On cross-examination, he disagreed with the suggestion that it was
not true that the 2
nd
defendant told him that she did not have the money.
[106] He further stated that he collected all the bills from Camric Hardware that he
paid on the claimant’s behalf and she would reimburse him. He exhibited a
bundle of receipts illustrating, among other things, the bills from Camric which he
paid on her behalf, totalling $513,636.65. Seven (7) Camric Ltd. receipts were
exhibited by the witness. However, only one was written in the name of the
claimant. The others were all in the name of Baugh’s Grain Store. Mr. Baugh
stated that he purchased the things from Camric as he had an account with them
and that the claimant did not. He also however stated that he is not sure if the
things were bought in the claimant’s name or his from Camric Hardware and that
his and her account were mixed.
[107] It was his evidence that he had all the original receipts in his possession and
would present them to the court if required. However, on cross-examination, he
testified that he did not have the original receipts, instead he had given them to
Mrs. White in 2006 and he did not get them back. He also stated later in cross-
examination that he had not totalled the bills himself, it was his wife who came up
with the figure. On cross-examination, he also testified that the claimant sent him
money through Western Union but he did not know how many times or where
she got it from. Further it was his evidence that the 2
nd
defendant never told him
that the claimant was in charge of the money but he knew she would pay him.
He said he met the claimant weeks before he started buying things for her and
delivering them.
Mr Richard White’s Hearsay Evidence
[108] He stated that to his certain knowledge the claimant paid for the material and
labour, as part of that payment was secured by exhausting all of their credit
cards in the United States of America to purchase the materials she sent down
and pay for labour to build the house for her parents. They had to take a
mortgage on the property they owned in Florida to help with the financing of this
construction which they have to be paying now. No documents were however
placed before the court proving this mortgage, and the claimant did not give any
evidence of it.
[109] The defendants submitted that the claimant had since 2005 been constructing
her own house located in Cardiff Hall, St. Ann and that a significant majority of
the receipts attached to the particulars of claim related to the construction of the
claimant’s house. The defendants also asked the court to consider whether given
the occupations of the claimant (Nurse’s Aide) and her husband (Tradesman),
they would be in a position to finance their home in the United States of America,
the one at Cardiff Hall and the house in question.
[110] The claimant denied these assertions and testified that she was not building at
Cardiff Hall between 2005 - 2007. She may only have been doing minor
“knocking out” in Cardiff Hall or grilling but no major work on her house in Cardiff
Hall in 2005. She had done construction on that house before she started her
parents’ house and has been doing construction from she took possession.
She did her fence in 2008, which was the only thing she had left to do.
[111] On an
evaluation of the evidence it is clear that the claimant did not solely
finance the construction of the house, though she no doubt spearheaded the
arrangements and made her own contributions. It was however a family
endeavour and she received very helpful assistance from her siblings,
particularly Winston. It may have appeared to the workmen and indeed to the
average onlooker that she was the only one financially maintaining the
construction but that was only because she was the only one of the defendants’
children physically present, available and on the 2
nd
defendant’s evidence,
very able.
[112] Counsel for the claimant submitted that if the court was of the view that it could
not order the transfer of the titles, the court should exercise its equitable powers
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