The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court recently concluded the appeal hearing in the protracted house dispute between plaintiff Nguyen Thi Nguyet (60) and Diep Van Lap, also known as bolero singer Quang Lap, who currently holds the house documents. Nguyen Quang Trong, named as the buyer in the handwritten sales agreement, was also a party to the proceedings.

On the afternoon of 24/9, after several days of deliberation, the appellate court ruled in favor of Ms. Nguyet. The court invalidated the handwritten house sale agreement dated 15/4/2014 between Ms. Nguyet and Mr. Trong. It also ordered Mr. Lap, a tenant named Ms. Thao, and all other occupants to vacate the premises and return possession to Ms. Nguyet.

Furthermore, the court ruled that Ms. Nguyet is not obligated to repay Mr. Trong the 1.3 billion VND he claimed to have paid her, nor is she liable for the 1.1 billion VND in compensation he sought – representing half the difference between the current market value of the house and the purported sale price, as stipulated in the original trial court’s ruling.

The court also dismissed Mr. Trong’s appeal to recognize the handwritten "House Sale Agreement" as legally binding, which he claimed would allow him to initiate the official transfer of ownership with the relevant authorities.

According to the appellate court, the documentation and evidence presented demonstrated that the house was owned by Ms. Nguyet and her husband. Although a handwritten sales agreement existed, it lacked the husband's signature, despite being signed at the plaintiff's residence. The agreement was also not notarized, violating Clause 3, Article 167 of the 2013 Land Law.

"Therefore, the handwritten house sale agreement between the two parties is invalid both in form and content. Consequently, there is no basis to accept Mr. Trong’s request to recognize this sales agreement as legal," the court stated, adding that Ms. Nguyet’s demand for the return of the land use right certificate and ownership documents from Mr. Lap is justified.

During the trial, Mr. Trong asserted he had paid 1.3 billion VND to Ms. Nguyet as per the sales agreement, but Ms. Nguyet denied receiving this sum. Mr. Trong failed to provide any evidence to support his claim.

Additionally, forensic analysis revealed that the handwritten addition to the photocopy of the sales agreement given to Ms. Nguyet, which read "Mr. Thieu (Ms. Nguyet's husband) owes me 1.7 billion VND and sold me the house for 1.3 billion VND. Therefore, Mr. Thieu still owes me 400,000 VND…," was indeed written and signed by Mr. Trong. Therefore, the court had no grounds to consider the consequences of the void contract. This means there was no basis to compel Ms. Nguyet to repay Mr. Trong the alleged 1.3 billion VND and the additional compensation for her purported role in the contract’s invalidity.

The appellate court's ruling is effective immediately.

Singer Quang Lap is a well-known bolero vocalist with a YouTube channel that once boasted millions of subscribers.

Quang Lap, 52, from An Giang, is recognized for his distinctive bolero voice and has over 1.2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel.

Case files reveal the disputed house, located in Hamlet 4, Tan Tao Ward (formerly Provincial Road 10, Binh Tan District), belonged to Ms. Nguyet and her husband. Ms. Nguyet alleges that her husband was lured into gambling and football betting by Mr. Lap, accumulating significant debt and using the house documents as collateral for a 1.7 billion VND loan. On 15/3/2014, Mr. Lap and others allegedly pressured Ms. Nguyet into signing a handwritten "House Sale Agreement" to settle the debt, with Mr. Trong named as the buyer. Distraught over the gambling losses and the loss of their home, Ms. Nguyet’s husband later committed suicide.

Unable to reclaim her house, Ms. Nguyet made several unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Mr. Lap before filing a lawsuit in June 2020, seeking to nullify the sale agreement and have her property and documents returned.

Throughout the trial, both Mr. Lap and Mr. Trong were absent, represented by legal counsel. Mr. Lap’s representatives maintained that the sale was legitimate, claiming he had introduced Mr. Trong to Ms. Nguyet, who agreed to sell the house for 1.3 billion VND and promised to transfer ownership but failed to do so.

Mr. Trong contested all claims in the lawsuit, requesting the court to recognize the sale agreement as legally valid. Should this fail, he demanded Ms. Nguyet repay the 1.3 billion VND along with the difference in the property’s current market value.

In March, the Binh Tan District People's Court (now the Regional Court 9) issued a partial ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, which Ms. Nguyet subsequently appealed.

Hai Duyen