Old Harbour family faces eviction from prime real estate

“We were astonished because we're saying we're not aware that the land was being sold, we should have been given noticed beforehand if that’s the case,” Stone said.

According to Stone, the first encounter took place on June 5 when the man, identified as *Robert Lawson, a reknowned businessman in Old Harbour, allegedly told family members that they needed to vacate the property by 5 p.m. that same day.

Stone said she reported the matter to the police on the same day and that officers subsequently visited Lawson and advised him that occupants could not be removed in that manner.

According to Stone, the police told Lawson that he would need to follow the proper legal process, including serving formal notices to the occupants and allowing them time to make arrangements to leave.

Stone said officers again intervened on June 17 after Lawson allegedly returned to the property and renewed his demands for the family to leave.

Despite the police's intervention on both occasions, Stone claims Lawson appeared unmoved by the officers' advice and remained adamant that the family vacate the property or face demolition of the dwelling.

“He came back again stating that he's going to come with the bulldozer to demolish the house and he doesn't care who is here. We even have a video recording of him stating all of that. He refuse to do this the right and peaceful way,” said Stone.

The family says it is not disputing Lawson's claim of ownership but is instead asking for time to make alternative living
arrangements.

“Basically, he's using bullying to try to get us off,” Stone said. “Yes, we know he might have bought...we still don’t know for sure because he hasn’t proved anything but we're not arguing about that, we’re just saying give us some time to get ourselves sorted, then we will leave.”

Stone said the family had heard earlier this year that the property might be sold after receiving what she described as a pending notice. However, she claims they were later informed that the transaction would not proceed because of tax-related issues.

“In March, we were told that it's not going to be sold anymore, so basically, we did not know that the property was sold until he came to us on the 5^th June telling us we have to leave by the 17^th of the same month,” said Stone.

She also expressed disappointment that relatives overseas who allegedly sold the property did not communicate directly with the family.

“Nobody is giving us any information. Nobody's talking to us. Basically, they just sent a message stating that he wants his place by the 15^th, so we're saying that's crazy… nobody looped us in onto what is happening. My cousin even change number now so we can’t even communicate anymore,” she said.

Contacted by Old Harbour News, Lawson confirmed that he purchased the property from relatives of the family who reside overseas. He disputed claims that the occupants were unaware of the sale, insisting that they had known for some time that they would eventually have to leave.

According to Lawson, the occupants have refused to vacate the premises despite repeated requests.  He maintained that he intends to take possession of the property and said he has all right to do so.

“I bought the property so it’s now mine and I can do whatever I want to do with it, I will lick down the house on my property if them don’t come out. I will only give them one month then them have to go and that’s final,” said Lawson.

With Lawson maintaining that he intends to claim full control of his property within a month and the Stone family
insisting they were blindsided by the sale, the dispute has raised concerns among residents about the sale of family lands, communication among relatives and the proper legal process for removing occupants from properties. The family says it hopes the matter can be resolved peacefully and through the proper legal process.

As of Tuesday, members of the Stone family remained on the property and no cour  t order or formal eviction notice was presented to Old Harbour News.

*The names used in this article have been changed to protect the identities of the individuals involved.