Fakafanua family dispute settled out of court [1]
Monday, July 14, 2008 - 10:03. Updated on Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - 11:37.
The family dispute between Noble Fakafanua and his uncles and aunties has been settled out of court in mediation according to the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on Friday, July 11.
The family dispute arose in court in April when the young noble claimed ownership of the property after cancelling the lease of the Fakafanua Centre property following the death of his grandmother Kalolaine Fakafanua in July 2007.
Tevita Tupou, the counsel for the noble, told Chief Justice Anthony Ford that the two parties who included plaintiffs Kisione and Paku Fakafanua, Si'atu Vaea, Polotu Paunga and twins Mele Tu'iha'angana and Ma'ata Paea had happily settled the matter in mediation.
"It was not an easy settlement because it involved finance, properties and most importantly family," said the counsel.
He said the party is a prominent family in Tonga and the noble is one of the 33 nobles with estates in Vava'u and Ha'apai and his most prominent estate at Ma'ufanga, Tongatapu was involved in the dispute.
"After negotiation the parties reached a happy settlement and it involved much goodwill of give and take of properties and everyone ended up happy," said the counsel.
He thanked the Chief Justice for encouraging the out of court settlement.
Chief Justice Ford said this was a satisfactory outcome and it was always rewarding for a case to be settled out of court.
"As I have mentioned before unless wiser heads prevail it will obviously be some time before all matters relating to the estate are resolved. This also shows that mediation has become a successful alternative in settling disputes out of court," said the Chief Justice.
Dispute
In the course of the hearing in April, the Chief Justice took an unusual step of urging counsels to explore the possibility of trying to negotiate an out of court settlement but at the time that did not prove possible.
Later in May he passed his decision and declared that the Minister of Lands Hon. Tuita unlawfully cancelled the lease of the Fakafanua Centre property to the late Kalolaine.
He then called on him to take appropriate steps to revoke the purported cancellation of the lease, and clarified under Section 11 of the Probate and Administration Act, all of Kalolaine's personal estate including the lease, which he found existing and the rents from the centre vested in the court from the moment of her death.
The parties then later agreed to talk in mediation in which had resulted in the out of court settlement.