Suzette Davis v Allan Davis
| Jurisdiction | Jamaica |
| Judge | T. Hutchinson, J |
| Judgment Date | 03 April 2020 |
| Court | Supreme Court (Jamaica) |
| Docket Number | CLAIM NO. 2015 HCV 03445 |
| Date | 03 April 2020 |
[2020] JMSC Civ 81
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE OF JAMAICA
IN THE CIVIL DIVISION
CLAIM NO. 2015 HCV 03445
Mr. Gordon Steer instructed by Chambers Bunny and Steer for the Claimant
Mr Chad Lawrence instructed by Samuda & Johnson for the Defendant
Application for division of property and maintenance — PROSA — Maintenance Act
T. Hutchinson, J (AG.)
On the 10th of July 2015, the Claimant Mrs Suzette Davis filed a fixed date claim form along with an affidavit in support in which she seeks the following orders against the Defendant Mr. Allan Davis;
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1. That property situates (sic) at 3 Laidley Close, Kingston 8 n the parish of St. Andrew and registered at Volume 1454 Folio 152 of the Register Book of Titles (the family home) be valued and sold on the open market and the net proceeds thereof be shared equally between the parties.
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2. That Messrs Karl Wilson and Company, Land Valuators be appointed to value the said real estate and prepare a valuation thereon. The upfront cost of the said report is to be paid by the Defendant and one-half of the said costs shall be later deducted from the Claimant's 1/2 of the net proceeds of sale of the real estate and repaid to the Respondent.
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3. That unless the parties agree to their apportionment, the furniture contained in the family home be valued and sold and apportioned equally between the parties.
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4. That the Claimant's Attorney's-At-Law shall have the carriage of sale of the said real estate and furniture.
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5. That the Claimant be given the option to purchase the family home situate at 3 Laidley Close, Kingston 8 in the parish of St Andrew said option to be exercised within 180 days of the date of the order.
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6. That she be awarded half the value of the Defendant's Company – Davis Transport Services Ltd.
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7. The Registrar of the Supreme Court be empowered to sign any Sale Agreement, Instrument of Transfer and any other relevant documents whatsoever which may be necessary to give effect to the Court's Orders.
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8. The Respondent do pay to the Petitioner the sum of $231,000 as monthly maintenance or such other reasonable amount as this Honourable Court sees fit until she remarries or further order of this Court.
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9. Any further and other relief.
During the course of the trial, Mr. Steer indicated that the order sought at paragraph 6 was no longer being pursued. The Defendant raised an objection to any of these orders being granted.
The Claimant's evidence in chief is outlined in 3 affidavits provided by her. In her first affidavit which was filed on the 10th of July 2015 she stated that she met the Defendant on the 7th of February 2009 and they went on their first date on the 14th of February 2009. She then outlined a period of courtship after which she said the Defendant accompanied her to England to meet her family.
She stated that in August 2009 they returned to Jamaica and commenced living at 3 Laidley Close, Kingston 8, St Andrew, hereinafter referred to as ‘the disputed property’. She averred that she took up residence at this address at the invitation of the Defendant, who she said made promises to her and her family to provide for her financially, physically and emotionally.
She outlined that while in the UK she had a number of business interests which provided her with a far superior quality of life compared to what she experienced in Jamaica. She stated that having relocated to Jamaica she had to hire someone to run her business Allfor Care Recruitment which formerly provided her with a gross income of £2,000,000 annually but had since fallen into ruin.
She stated that during the course of her relationship with the Defendant she made a number of large financial contributions to his business, provided him with foreign exchange and paid his creditors.
The Claimant deponed that she worked in the Defendant's business from 2009 until 2011 when he brought in his daughter to replace her. She said that in the course of their relationship she purchased personal items for the defendant and furnishings for the home. She averred that the monthly cost of running the household was $350,000 which would be covered by the Defendant, but after 2011 he only paid $50,000. She said he continued to pay this sum to her up to September 2014 when he stopped.
She outlined her current monthly personal expenses as amounting to $231,000 which included payment for medication, kidney scans, visits to the gynaecologist, IVF storage, travel expenses, household helper, food and clothing. In relation to her physical health she stated that she suffered from uterine fibroids and had challenges becoming pregnant.
At paragraph 14 of her affidavit, the Claimant said that they got married on the 20th of April 2013, at Leith Hall Baptist Church in St Thomas after which they went on their honeymoon and then ‘commenced living together as husband and wife at our home at 3 Laidley Close in the parish of St Andrew.
She said that in April 2014 she gave birth to a daughter who died shortly after. She was then in and out of the hospital as a result of complications. She also had to do surgery to remove kidney stones. She stated that she became ill with kidney problems and had to undergo an operation and that she now sees a kidney specialist twice a year and has monthly kidney scans. In this regard she produced SD12 to 16 but a review of these documents revealed that they contain no reference to doctor's visits for kidney issues or scans. In relation to her monthly visits to the Gynaecologist and bi-weekly visits to the psychiatrist, up to September 2014, no documentation has been produced.
She outlined that the Defendant became distant and subsequently ceased all communication. She stated that she received a text message from him in October 2014 asking her to leave his house keys with his brother and in December 2014 he sent someone to retrieve his clothing and other personal items from their bedroom. She stated that she received information which suggested infidelity on his part. She said that she was served with divorce papers on the 2nd of July 2015 after which she was driven from the home by the hostile behaviour of the Defendant's daughter.
In her affidavit filed on the 9th of January 2019 she clarified that the sum of £10,000,000, which she said had been paid on behalf of the Defendant was an error and should have been £10,000, and this sum had been paid on two occasions.
She stated that she lived at the disputed property until she was forced out in March 2016, during which she carried out substantial repairs to the roof and structure and updated the property. She also deponed that she would care of the defendant's younger child whenever he visited.
She outlined that she had owned a business with her brother but it had failed. She also stated that she had operated a chicken farm but the chickens had died. She acknowledged that the Defendant had contributed towards the acquisition of property in Bull Bay, but insisted that it was only $500,000 which covered the closing cost and this sum was repaid to him.
In respect of her application for spousal support, the Claimant produced an affidavit of disclosure with several attachments. The affidavit was filed on the 25th of March 2019 and had attached several exhibits to include mortgage statements, unaudited financial reports for Allfor Care Recruitment and statements for a number of bank accounts.
She was cross examined and insisted that she met the defendant in February 2009. She acknowledged however that she had owned property in Jamaica before 2009. She then changed her response to state that it was actually her parent's home and not her own.
She accepted that prior to 2009 she had owned a business called Caribbean Distributors Ltd. She then stated that the only business interest she had was Sue True Distributors which was incorporated in April 2009.
She insisted that she moved in with the Defendant within 6 months of meeting him and that she had only moved back to Jamaica based on his promises. She accepted however that her company Sue True Distributors had been incorporated two months after she said she met the Defendant and before she moved back to Jamaica.
She was asked about 2 companies owned and managed by her in the UK namely Allfor Care and Home Care and stated that she had managed them for about 9 to 10 years. She was asked if she had said in her affidavit that she would receive an income of over £2 million from them and she responded that she had said JMD$2 million. She was shown her affidavit and the reference to £2 million and responded that it was a typo. She then stated that it was the company which would earn this figure and not her. When pressed on whether the company had earned £2 million she responded that that was also a typo.
She then stated that she could not remember if this company had ever made a profit in the years she had been its manager. In response to the suggestion that the company made a good amount of money she said that she didn't know what that meant.
She agreed that she had been financially independent but insisted that she was now in need of financial support from the Defendant. It was suggested to her that the Defendant never told her that he would support her financially and after some hesitation she responded that he had.
She agreed that Allfor Care was still in operation while she was in Jamaica and that it had two locations. She then stated that the business had in fact fallen into ruins. In response to questions whether she still received an income from this company she hesitated but eventually responded that she didn't. She stated that the business was being run by her mother but subsequently stated that her mother had been in Jamaica and...
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