Old McDonald had a Farm and Kids: A Tale of Succession and Unjust Enrichment

Case Comment: McDonald v McDonald

The day-to-day life of a farm kid is exceedingly different from that of a "city" boy or girl. While some children are told to take out the trash, clear the table, and tidy up their bedrooms, children of farmers are expected to be up at the crack of dawn to engage in unpaid, arduous labour to support the viability of the farm and to prepare the next generation to take over. What happens when these children grow up and feel they should now be compensated for their "family chores"?

In McDonald v McDonald,1 the Court of Appeal for British Columbia decided that as a matter of public policy, chores performed by children in a family setting do not, absent indicia of exploitation, attract a right to compensation under the doctrine of unjust enrichment.

The Facts

The McDonald family farm was acquired in 1865 and was continually passed down from generation to generation. Title to the dairy farm was conveyed to Samuel Alexander McDonald and his wife, Sylvia McDonald, as joint tenants in 1974. Together with their three sons (Robert, Brian and Dean) and one daughter (Julie), the McDonalds operated the farm without the assistance of paid farmhands. The farm did very well and was eventually incorporated under the name McDonald Landing Farms Ltd. (MLFL). At the time of the trial (2014), the market value of the farm's assets was in excess of $12 million dollars.

All of the children performed unpaid chores on the farm up until the time they graduated from high school; each pursued their own path shortly thereafter. Robert was the only child who remained full-time on the farm and eventually took on a management role. Brian was seriously disabled as a result of an injury on the farm which left him in fragile health and competitively unemployable. Dean pursued a career working as a crewmember on a tugboat and returned on his days off where he was compensated for any casual labour completed. Dean was additionally absent from the farm as he did jail time for the murder of his wife. Julie went to work on another farm but also returned periodically to help out and received payment for her services as an adult.

... they left the farm to Robert, in hopes of the farm remaining in the family...

Their parents first created wills in 1996 wherein they left the farm to Robert, in hopes of the farm remaining in the family, as well as the residue of their estate (which included the common shares of MLFL). The other children were bequeathed...

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