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Craig Anderson In Property A Guide To Scots Law

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Craig Anderson in Property: A Guide to Scots Law stated:

“Any dealing with the whole of the property requires the involvement of all the co-owners. We have seen that there is a general principle that it is impossible to give a greater right than you have yourself … nemo dat quod non habet” .

This is the issue at point in the present case. In the present case John and Amanda are co-owners of a house and due to recent separation, Amanda wants to compel John to let her buy out his shares. However, John is in opposition to this as he would rather have the house sold on an open market and the proceeds divided. To yield a potentially higher price. To determine the possible outcome of this situation, the legal issues need to be discussed. To make …show more content…

Amanda offered John market value for his share which she did not have to do. According to Bankton, Amanda could have stated any price. The market value of a property has only become more substantial in later modern cases. As Craig Anderson states: “In the modern cases, by contrast, what has typically been asked is simply for the defender to be compelled to sell up to the pursuer at a market valuation.” An example of a modern case which has similar circumstances to the present case of Amanda and John is the case of Gray v Kerner. In Gray v Kerner ‘a house was co-owned by the parties and after the breakdown of their relationship the pursuer sought to buy out the defenders shares and for his share of mortgage payments. The defender, however, wanted divison and sale of the property. The sheriff sided with the pursuer as her family life should not be disrupted by biding on the house in an open market and no inconvenience was caused to the defender.’ This is a significant case as the facts of the case are similar to that of Amanda …show more content…

The first is division, as Grant Knight and Vicky Lewis state in their article; Is division and sale a useful remedy: “First, there is the issue of whether the property can be divided and if it cannot then it requires to be sold.” With the present case of Amanda and John the house could not be divided equally between the two parties and would therefore require the house to be sold. Division and sale is therefore, the only logically remedy that the courts could impose. Division and sale is the selling of the house with which the: “proceeds thereafter should be in proportions which are just and equitable.” Dividing the proceeds equally, prevents the general principle of nemo dat quod non habet being an issue. Division and sale is an absolute right and under common law for an unmarried couple there is no defence to this. A case which highlights the courts effectively implementing the remedy of divison and sale is the case of Berry v Berry. In this case the husband wanted to buy out the wife’s shares. However, the outer house refused to allow him to buy out her shares as It was seen in both the party’s best interests to have a sale on the open market which would raise a higher price. Although, in this case Berry and Berry are a married couple and have the be benefit to implement the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 it still shows the

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