Claim for compulsory liquidation of a joint property owneship may be withdrawn

Upon the petition from two out of three co-owners, the District Court had decided on forced dissolution of a joint property ownership in accordance with the simplified procedure in section 15 subsection 3 of the Joint Ownership Act. Before the sales work was finalised, the claimants withdrew the petition, which the third co-owner opposed. The Supreme Court, having conducted an oral hearing, found in contrast to the previous instances that section 5-17 subsection 1 (b) of the Enforcement Act, which gives the claimant the right to request cancellation of ongoing enforcement proceedings, had to apply also to cases of forced dissolution of joint ownerships, see section 15 subsection 1 first sentence of the Joint Ownership Act. There were no sufficient reasons to make an exception from the principle of party control. The claimants had also requested that the property be partitioned, see section 9 of the Ownership Partitioning Act, and it was stated that claims for ownership partitioning as a starting point would have to be given priority over a competing claim for forced dissolution of the joint ownership. The orders of the District Court and the Court of Appeal were set aside. 

Area of law: The Condominium Act, the Ownership Section Act

Key paragraphs: 52, 53

Justices: Webster, Normann, Kallerud, Ringnes, Østensen Berglund