Advertisement

Feud over home in Little Heart's Ease destroys father-son relationship

A couple who moved back to the province from Ontario after an offer to take over the family home in Little Heart's Ease is now being kicked out, and a father-son relationship is in shreds.

The family feud over what constitutes a 'gift' went to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, which ruled Oct. 2 that, without a written agreement, the property was not legally transferred.

Derrick and Gabriele King paid a $4,200 penalty to break their lease in Elmwood, Ontario and move to Little Heart's Ease in May, 2012.

Derrick King said his father called and said, "We want you to come home." Friends testified they heard the man say in a second phone call: "The house is a gift, I am giving you the house."

According to Derrick, his father Sherman offered him the two-bedroom bungalow on Maple Road, in an area known locally as 'the Squid Holes,' if he paid for fire protection and garbage collection. The older man said he wanted continued access to the basement, garage and shed.

When Derrick and Gabriele arrived, they found the door open and keys on the table. His father moved into a nearby house owned by his wife's family.

Dad calls daughter-in-law 'trouble'

The relationship between father and son began disintegrating almost immediately.

According to Derrick King, his father ignored requests to "sign the house over," saying the the gift was conditional on him "keeping Gabriele under control," and that Gabriele "was never going to get anything since she has created a lot of trouble for the family."

Derrick told his father, "I don't keep my woman under control."

By 2014, lawyers were involved. There had been a dispute over who should pay for firewood and insurance on the house. Rent was demanded, and an eviction notice issued.

Derrick and Gabriele King applied for a peace bond to keep Sherman King away from the property after he took pipes from the well. They also applied for a court order to have the house transferred to their name.

Judge says get it in writing

After listening to arguments from both sides during a hearing in September and describing it as "a sad story," Justice David Orsborn, ruled against the younger couple, citing the absence of a written agreement.

"The combination of personality conflicts, differing expectations and intentions, and the failure to clarify and commit a family arrangement to writing have combined to create what may well be irreparable damage to the King family," Orsborn wrote.

He ruled Derrick and Gabriele King will have to move out of house in Little Heart's Ease by Nov. 27.