Legal Definitions - ouster

In legal terms, ouster primarily refers to the act of wrongfully dispossessing or excluding someone from property, especially real estate. This often occurs when one co-owner prevents another co-owner from accessing or using a shared property. More broadly, ouster can also describe the removal of an individual from a position of power, such as a corporate officer or a public official.

• Example 1 (Property - Co-owner Exclusion):

  Imagine two siblings, Clara and David, who jointly inherited a family farm. Clara decides she wants to manage the entire property herself and, without consulting David, begins to harvest crops from fields David traditionally worked and then refuses him access to the farm's main barn where he stores his equipment.

  Explanation: Clara's actions constitute an ouster because she has wrongfully and unilaterally excluded David, a rightful co-owner, from accessing and utilizing portions of their shared real property that he is entitled to use.

• Example 2 (Property - Substantial Interference):

  Consider a situation where three business partners own a commercial building together. One partner, Sarah, decides to undertake extensive, unapproved renovations on the building's common areas, including the main entrance and shared conference rooms. These renovations make these areas completely inaccessible and unusable for the other two partners for several months, severely disrupting their ability to conduct business from their offices within the building.

  Explanation: Sarah's actions, by rendering essential shared parts of the property unusable and inaccessible to her co-owners without their consent, represent an ouster. She has effectively deprived them of their right to possess and use their shared property.

• Example 3 (Removal from Position):

  The city council of a municipality discovers that the appointed head of the public works department has been engaging in unethical practices and misusing public funds. After a formal investigation and a vote by the council members, the department head is terminated from their position.

  Explanation: This action by the city council is an example of an ouster, as it involves the removal of a public official from their position of power within the government.