An elderly woman in British Columbia, who spent more than $3.4 million on building a house on the Sunshine Coast, obtained a court order against the former co-owners of the property, who only contributed $115,000 to the project.

Maria Sandberg Jones and the two men she bought the property from in May 2020 – Leslie Thompson and Andrew Press – are involved in ongoing lawsuits and counterclaims against each other in British Columbia.

While the lawsuit is still ongoing, Judge Anita Chan Jones granted a court order earlier this month requiring Thomson and Press to vacate the property, allowing Jones to sell it and recover some of her investments.

Also, according to Chan’s decision, which was issued on January 10 and published online this week, Jones is the sole registered owner of the property.

When the trio first bought the land in Gibson, this was not the case. Initially, Jones was registered as owning a one-quarter undivided share of the property, under 1251078 Limited – a numbered company controlled by Thomson and Press – who owned the rest.

The plan was to build a house on the property containing a separate suite for Jones, who was 74 years old, to live in as she aged. It was also intended that her part of the house would occupy one-third of the space, while the remainder – where Thompson and Press would live – would occupy the other two-thirds.

Jones became the sole owner in November 2021, when both parties were seeking a construction loan. While the two sides dispute the exact circumstances that led to Jones obtaining full ownership, the court’s decision indicates that Thomson and Press’s credit was poor, and the bank was more willing to lend money to Jones.

Thompson and Press have been living in a trailer on the property since July 2021, with the court ruling noting that they also have several storage containers on the property.

Chan’s decision also indicated that Jones resorted to using her retirement savings and borrowing money from friends to ensure continued repayment of the construction loan. Thomson and Press have not contributed regularly to the joint account set up for the project since January 2023, and before that, they contributed far less than Jones claims they agreed to pay.

Chan’s decision stated: “So far, Ms. Jones has spent nearly $3.47 million on purchasing the property and building the house.” “Mr. Thompson and Mr. Press have paid nearly $115,000.”

While the defendants claim Jones knew from the start that she would pay the construction bill, with Thompson and Press repaying her over time, the lawsuit filed by Jones accuses the two men of misrepresenting their financial capacity to buy the property and build the house with her.

Jones’s claim and the defendants’ counterclaim are yet to be resolved. Chan’s decision addressed a preliminary request from Jones for an injunction preventing Thomson and Press from trespassing on the property and interfering with the completion of the house.

“She needs to sell”

The courts use a three-part test when deciding whether to grant an injunction. To succeed, the party seeking the injunction must first show that they have a “strong prima facie case,” also known as a strong likelihood of eventual success on the merits of their comprehensive claim.

If a prima facie case is demonstrated, the judge must decide that the injunction is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to the party seeking it.

Finally, if there is a prima facie case and a likelihood of irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, the judge must determine whether the “balance of convenience” favors granting the injunction.

In this case, Chan concluded that all three parts of the test were met.

Also, according to the decision, the defendants claim that Jones obtained sole ownership of the property under an oral agreement to hold two-thirds of it in trust for Thomson and Press. Jones disputes that any such agreement exists.