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ORDER 31

SALES ETC. OF LAND BY ORDER OF COURT

Part 1 - Sales of Land for the Purpose of Enforcing a Judgment or Decree

Application of this part of Order

1. The provisions of this Part of this Order shall apply to sales of land or any part thereof ordered by the Court in pursuance of the Remedies of Creditors Ordinance Ch 6 No 2 to enforce a judgment obtained or decree made in a suit.

Form of Summons for sale

2. The summons for sale required by the Remedies of Creditors Ordinance, Ch 6 No 2, to obtain for sale shall be in Form No 26 in Appendix A.

Rules governing certain sales

3. Where the Court has not in an order for sale made the sale subject to any particular conditions of sale and has given no special directions, the following rules shall, subject to rule 4, apply:-

(a) The Registrar, or where the sale is proceeding in a Sub-Registry, the Assistant Registrar of that Sub-Registry, shall sell by auction to the highest bidder after advertisement of sale in one copy of the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette and for two days in a local daily newspaper in each week for a period of four weeks.

(b) Whenever the highest bid at the sale shall be one hundred and twenty dollars or less, the sum bid shall be paid in cash forthwith and in the event of its not being paid the sale shall not be closed but shall continue then, or on such other day as the Registrar or Assistant Registrar, as the case may be, shall appoint.

(c) Whenever the highest bid at the sale shall exceed one hundred and twenty dollars, either the sum bid shall be paid in cash forthwith, or a deposit of one hundred and twenty dollars or 10 per cent of that bid (whichever is the greater) shall be made forthwith and in the event of such sum not being paid or such deposit not being made, the sale shall not be closed but shall continue then, or on such other day as the Registrar or Assistant Registrar, as the case may be, shall appoint.

(d) Whenever a sale is closed and the whole of the purchase money is not paid, the purchaser shall pay the balance within 7 days of the confirmation of the sale in writing by the Registrar or Assistant Registrar having the conduct of the sale.

(e) In the event of the purchaser making default in payment of the balance of the purchase money, the amount of the deposit shall be forfeited and the land may, without further order after being re-advertised in the manner provided in paragraph (a), against be put up for auction.

(f) In the event of the property being sold at a resale pursuant to paragraph (e) for a sum less than the highest bid at the previous sale, the deposit forfeited under paragraph (e) shall be applied in payment of the costs of the resale and in making good any such deficit.

(g) If after payment of the costs and making good the deficit mentioned in paragraph (f), any balance remains of the deposit forfeited under paragraph (e), the balance shall be returned to the depositor.

(h) The Registrar or Assistant Registrar having the conduct of the sale shall at once pay into the Treasury to the credit of the action or matter in which the order of sale was made, all amounts that may be received by him.

(i) The conditions of sale in paragraphs (b) to (g) inclusive or, where they have been modified pursuant to rule 4, those conditions as so modified shall be read at the opening of the sale.

Application by Registrar or Assistant Registrar

4. The Registrar or Assistant Registrar having the conduct of a sale which is subject to the rules in rule 3, may at any time before the sale, apply to the Court for directions of the Court modifying by addition, deletion or other amendment the rules contained in paragraphs (b) to (g) inclusive of rule 3, and where such directions are given, the sale shall be conducted in accordance with those rules as so modified.

Powers of Assistant Registrar, Tobago

5. The Assistant Registrar, Tobago, shall have power to exercise the powers of a Judge in all matters under the Ordinance: Provided that no order shall be made on the return of a summons for sale until the papers shall have been submitted to a Judge and the proposed order has been approved of by him.

Obligations and Costs etc. relating to Advertisement

6. (1) The obligation to advertise as required by rules 3(a) and 3(e) shall be upon the party by whom the order for sale is obtained and the costs of such advertisement shall be met by him.

(2) Two days at least before the day of a sale subject to the rules in rule 3 or to those rules as modified pursuant to rule 4, the party by whom the order for sale was obtained shall lodge with the Registrar or Assistant Registrar having the conduct of the sale, a copy of each and every newspaper in which pursuant to rule 3(a) or 3(e) the land has been advertised.

This rule shall not apply to the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette.

(3) In the event of failure to comply with the provisions of paragraph (2) the Registrar or Assistant Registrar, as the case may be, may cancel or postpone the sale.

Part II - Other Sales of Land by Order of Court

Power to Order Sale of Land

7. Where otherwise than for the purposes of rule 1 of this Order in any cause or matter relating to any land it appears necessary or expedient for the purposes of the cause or matter that the land or any part thereof should be sold, the Court may order that land or part to be sold, and any party bound by the order and in possession of that land or part, or in receipt of the rents and profits thereof, may be compelled to deliver up such possession or receipt to the purchaser or to such other person as the Court may direct.

In this Order "land" includes any interest in, or right over, land.

Manner of carrying out Sale

8. (1) Where pursuant to rule 7 an order is made, whether in Court or in chambers, directing any land to be sold, the Court may permit the party or person having the conduct of the sale to sell the land in such manner as he thinks fit, or may direct that the land be sold in such manner as the Court may either by the order or under paragraph (4) direct for the best price that can be obtained, and all proper parties shall join in the sale and conveyance as the Court shall direct.

(2) The party entitled to prosecute the order must, subject to paragraph (3), take out a summons to proceed with the order.

(3) Where an order for sale made pursuant to rule 7 contains directions with regard to effecting the sale, the party entitled to prosecute the order shall not take out a summons under paragraph (2) unless and until he requires the further directions of the Court.

(4) On the hearing of the summons the Court may give such direction as it thinks fit for the purpose of effecting the sale, including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words, directions-

(a) appointing the party or person who is to have the conduct of the sale;

(b) fixing the manner of sale, whether by contract conditional on the approval of the Court, private treaty, public auction, tender or some other manner;

(d) requiring payment of the purchase money into court or to trustees or other persons;

(e) for settling the particulars and conditions of sale;

(f) for obtaining evidence of the value of the property;

(g) fixing the security (if any) to be given by the auctioneer, if the sale is to be by public auction, and the remuneration to be allowed him;

(h) requiring an abstract of the title to be referred to counsel appointed by the Court for his opinion thereon and to settle the particulars and conditions of sale.

Certifying Result of Sale

9. (1) If either the Court has directed payment of the purchase money into court or the Court so directs, the result of a sale by order of the Court made pursuant to rule 7 must be certified-

(a) in the case of a sale by public auction, by the auctioneer who conducted the sale, and

(b) in any other case, by the solicitor of the party or person having the conduct of the sale;

and the Court may require the certificate to be verified by the affidavit of the auctioneer or solicitor, as the case may be.

(2) The solicitor of the party or person having the conduct of the sale must not later than two days after the sale, file the certificate and affidavit, if any, in the Registry or Sub-Registry, as the case may be, in which the matter is proceeding.

Mortgage, Exchange or Partition under Order of the Court

10. Rules 8 and 9 shall, so far as applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply in relation to the mortgage, exchange or partition of any land under an order of the Court as they apply in relation to the sale of any land under such an order.