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High Court enforces the doctrine of proprietary estoppel against the administratix of a deceased farmer's estate and grants an order in favouring of the plaintiff awarding him half of the estate, in circumstances where the plaintiff had left school at the age of 12 to work full time on the farm of the deceased, and where the deceased had made representations to the plaintiff that he was to benefit from this farm.
Defendant is the administratrix of the deceased - plaintiff has issued proceedings seeking to enforce the doctrine of proprietary estoppel or seeking a constructive trust - deceased died in March 2009 aged 79 - the deceased was a bachelor farmer who owned and farmed approximately 76 acres - deceased was survived by one brother and four sisters - plaintiff was born in 1959 and is married with three sons - plaintiff worked part time for the deceased from the age of eleven - he then left school at twelve to work for the deceased full time until the deceased's death - plaintiff lived in a dwelling house in substandard condition - he was offered a council house in 1987 but refused it - in 1998 the deceased gifted the plaintiff and his wife a site on his lands - the agreed value of the site is €10,000 - there was an allegation by the plaintiff that he was sexually abused by the deceased from the age of thirteen in 1972 up to 20 years of age in 1979, when the alleged abuse stopped - the first time the allegations were made was during these proceedings when pleaded in the statement of claim in August 2009 - the plaintiff alleged that the deceased promised to give him his whole farm if he did not tell the Gardaí - the plaintiff stated that the abuse stopped and the deceased felt sorry it had ever happened - subsequently they grew close and he trusted the deceased after that and developed a great friendship - plaintiff alleged down the years that the deceased made numerous promises to him - the doctrine of proprietary estoppel is based on three main elements: a representation or assurance made to the claimant; reliance on it by the claimant; and detriment to the claimant in consequence of his (reasonable) reliance - the promise or promises may not be exact and to the point, but can be indirect and oblique - plaintiff had credibility problems - despite the problems with credibility, the court accepted his evidence - plaintiff awarded half the estate of the deceased.
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