Ramrattan Seecharan (Appellant) v Leroy Gobin (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2026/0075

Jurisdiction

Trinidad and Tobago

Parties

Appellant(s)

Ramrattan Seecharan

Respondent(s)

Leroy Gobin

Issue

Whether, if the Appellant’s father’s lease over a portion of the lands was not validly terminated, that should prevent the Respondent from being granted possession of the lands.

Facts

Leroy Gobin, the Respondent, brought a claim against Ramrattan Seecharan, the Appellant, for possession of lands which the Appellant occupied. The Respondent also sought damages for trespass and injunctive relief. The Respondent brought the claim in his capacity as personal representative of the estate of James Victor Gobin. The Appellant’s father (who died in 2014) had been the tenant of James Victor Gobin. The Appellant’s parents had built first a wooden and then a concrete dwelling house on a portion of the lands. The Appellant responded to the claim by asserting adverse possession, arguing that the Respondent’s paper title had been extinguished by virtue of his and his parents’ continuous and undisturbed possession since 1997 (when, on the Appellant’s case, his parents had stopped paying rent). In the alternative, he argued that the Respondent held the lands on trust for the Appellant’s father, by virtue of James Victor Gobin allegedly having acquiesced in the construction of the dwelling houses. The Respondent succeeded in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal. However, the Court of Appeal excepted one house spot from the High Court’s order for possession in favour of the Respondent, on the basis that the Appellant’s parents had gained equitable rights in the house spot after James Victor Gobin had acquiesced in the construction of the concrete dwelling house. The Appellant now appeals to the Privy Council.

Date of issue

24 August 2026

Case origin

Appeal As of Right

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