Cesira Ravagnolo (by her tutor Katerina Skinner) v Lang Ravagnolo; Lang Ravagnolo v Cesira Ravagnolo

Cesira Ravagnolo, by her tutor Katerina Skinner, brought an action against Lang Ravagnolo, seeking possession of a property that Cesira owns. Lang, Cesira's daughter-in-law, had resided in the property for over 20 years with Cesira's son. Following the unexpected death of Cesira's son, the court was tasked with determining whether Cesira was estopped from evicting Lang from the property. The primary legal issue before the court was whether Cesira made representations to Lang over 20 years ago, indicating that Lang could reside in the property indefinitely if she agreed to return to her marriage with Cesira's son. The court had to determine if Cesira's alleged representations constituted a proprietary estoppel, thereby preventing her from seeking Lang's eviction.

The court found that the central issue was whether Cesira had made the representations to Lang, which would have amounted to a proprietary estoppel. The court noted that Cesira was no longer competent to give evidence. Given the lack of evidence to prove the representations, the court concluded that the plaintiff had not established the necessary elements for proprietary estoppel. As such, the court ruled that Cesira was not estopped from requiring Lang to vacate the property. The court determined that Cesira, as the registered proprietor of the property, had the legal right to demand Lang's eviction.

The court's reasoning hinged on the absence of credible evidence proving the representations made by Cesira to Lang. Without substantiated proof of the alleged representations, the court found it impossible to establish a proprietary estoppel. Consequently, the court ruled in favour of Cesira, permitting her to seek possession of the property from Lang. The court's decision underscored the importance of evidence in establishing proprietary estoppel claims. The court granted Cesira's application for possession of the property, allowing her to evict Lang from the premises.