O. Leelawathie Perera vs Jayasuriy Arachchige Sornapala – CA 200/1997-2011

In the case between O. Leelawathie Perera (Plaintiff) and Jayasuriy Arachchige Somapala (7th Defendant-Appellant), the court addressed the entitlement to proceeds from the sale of mahogany trees cut from partitioned land. The primary issue was whether these proceeds should be distributed among all entitled parties or solely to the 7th Defendant-Appellant, who asserted exclusive rights based on the claimed planting of the trees by his predecessors post-1960. It was held that both the property and the value of improvements, including the proceeds from the trees, must be apportioned in accordance with parties’ shares as established in the partition suit. Reliance was placed on the case record, admitted evidence, and the District Court’s reasoning, affirming the principle that all parties enti