Facts

The plaintiffs and the first defendant are sisters; the second defendant is the first defendant’s husband. Their late mother owned a property in Shanghai. When the property was expropriated, the first defendant, acting as agent, signed the compensation agreement with the expropriation authority and received RMB 5.6 million. Three household registrations were recorded at the property — the plaintiff, the first defendant and the second defendant.

The plaintiff argued that the compensation should be apportioned by reference to her status as a registered occupant and to her entitlement in the late mother’s estate; the defendants argued that the plaintiff had not contributed to the property and had lived elsewhere.

Approach

Ma Dehui acted for the plaintiff. The case required separating three distinct questions: title to the original property, entitlement under the succession, and the separate statutory entitlement of registered occupants to expropriation compensation. Treating them as one question is the usual source of error in this kind of dispute.

Outcome

The court mediated. The parties reached a settlement that allocated the compensation between them and preserved the family relationship — the outcome the client had asked for.