QUIST v. GEORGE

In a dispute over land at North Christiansborg, Accra, the plaintiff, a widowed mother, sought a declaration that her son-in-law, a medical doctor, was only a bare licensee on land where Salem Hospital stands. The plaintiff had gifted the land to her only daughter by deed in 1959; the daughter later mortgaged it to Barclays Bank to secure a loan for the defendant, who built the hospital. After the spouses separated in 1969, the daughter reconveyed the land to the plaintiff in 1970. The defendant counterclaimed for beneficial ownership and transfer of legal title. Evaluating trust formalities, presumptions of advancement, and equitable principles, the court rejected a trust and advancement, but found that by relying on the daughter’s promise and expending funds to construct the hospital with her encouragement and participation, the defendant acquired more than a contractual licence—an equity that estops the plaintiff from revoking his occupation. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim and, varying the counterclaim, ordered a 25-year lease, with ground rent to be assessed, rather than conveyance, and made no order as to costs.