Judge rejects land transfer bid in BC that involved '$22 in silver coins'

A BC Supreme Court judge in Smithers dismissed a petition to transfer ownership of land to someone who filed as “Katherine-eileen of the house of Peters.”

In a June 16 written decision, Justice Julianne Lamb rejected the action because “the petitioner failed to provide legal authority for the order sought.”

Peters sought court orders to cancel the names Barry Dennis Wilson and Donna Lee Wilson from a property in the Bulkley-Nechako region. She also wanted a judge to merge the titles into one and convey the title to “Katherine-eileen of the house of Peters.”

The petitioner claimed she bought the property for valuable consideration of $950,000 “and with the lawful tender conveyance of twenty two dollars in silver coins.” She submitted a document to court titled “Bill of Conveyance Warranty Deed” purportedly signed by the Wilsons, herself and three witnesses. But she did not provide a title certificate to prove the registered owners of the property. Nor did she identify any provision in the Land Title Act that authorizes the cancellation of registered ownership.

Lamb found Peters appears to be part of a “category of litigants” that fall under the umbrella of organized pseudo-legal commercial argument (OPCA) litigants, so named by an Alberta judge in the 2012 Meads versus Meads case.

“Whether or not the petitioner is an OPCA litigant, I am dismissing her petition,” Lamb wrote. “The petitioner failed to satisfy me that the orders sought are well-founded in law or equity.”

Thumbnail photo credit: John Deacon