Ex-wife wins right to pursue property battle despite missed deadline
Published:Tuesday | May 6, 2025 | 10:15 AMTansha Mundle/Staff Reporter
A Jamaica-born woman living in the United States has received Supreme Court approval to pursue her claim for a share in a St Catherine property she co-owns with her ex-husband, despite his attempt to block the case due to delay.
Lorris Williams filed the claim in October 2021 – 13 years after her 2008 divorce from Corie Prince – seeking a declaration that both parties are each entitled to an equal 50 per cent interest in a Cedar Grove, Gregory Park property they purchased during their marriage. The couple, married in 1998, migrated to the US shortly after acquiring the property.
While three properties were acquired overseas during the marriage – two awarded to Williams and one foreclosed – she claimed she later fell on hard times and lost both her properties.
Prince returned to Jamaica after the divorce, later remarried, and then moved to Canada. He argued that the claim should be dismissed because Williams filed outside the 12-year limitation under the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act (PROSA). He also claimed that she failed to get the court’s permission to file late.
However, Justice Tricia Hutchinson Shelly ruled in Williams’ favour and granted an extension, stating the claimant would suffer greater prejudice if barred.
“I find that the denial of this application would deny the claimant the right of an expeditious and fair resolution of the matter,” the judge said.
Similarly, she said granting the application would deny Prince his limitation defence.
While the delay was inordinate, the judge accepted that the reasons given were plausible.
Williams had said that she was unable to pursue the matter earlier due to financial hardship, mental health struggles, undocumented status in the US, and homelessness, during which she lived in a shelter with her child. She also claimed ignorance of the 12-year deadline and difficulty affording legal help.
Williams alleged she was denied access to the property in 2014 and 2017 despite being on the registered title. She only briefly accessed it in 2017 with police assistance.
Attorney J’Nae Peart argued that Williams had been unfairly excluded from the property and did not benefit equally from the asset distribution, while Prince gained use, occupancy, and rental income.
Prince’s lawyer, Marcus Moore, insisted Williams abandoned her interest and that Prince had been in exclusive possession since 2008.
The court noted that Prince presented renovation receipts as part of a prima facie case,whileWilliams claimed to have sent materials and bought fixtures, but offered no supporting evidence.
Justice Hutchinson Shelly stressed that since the property is not the family home, no presumption of equal entitlement exists under Section 14 of PROSA, and contributions must be examined at trial. The case will proceed with a pretrial hearing set for July 23 and a trial date scheduled for November 2025.