Snodgrass Petitioner [1922] ScotLR 394 (12 May 1922)

Snodgrass Petitioner [1922] ScotLR 394 (12 May 1922)

An application to the nobile officium of the Court to authorise trustees to pay a legacy is incompetent where the matter concerns the administration of a private trust and can be resolved by ordinary legal proceedings; the proper remedy is a direct claim against the trustees, not a petition to the nobile officium.

Citation
[1922] ScotLR 394
Parties
Petitioner: Mary Anderson Snodgrass; Trustee: Dr David Murray; Trustee (deceased): James Fullarton Snodgrass
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
12 May 1922
Procedural Posture
Petition to Court of Session (inner House, Second Division) / Application for Exercise of Nobile Officium; Judgment on Competency
Outcome
Petition refused as incompetent
Legal Topics
Nobile Officium, Trust Administration, Payment of Legacy, Presumption Against Childbearing, Competency of Petitions
Trusts and Estates Civil Procedure Nobile Officium Trust Administration Payment of Legacy Presumption Against Childbearing Competency of Petitions

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Parties

Mary Anderson Snodgrass

Petitioner

Dr David Murray

Trustee

James Fullarton Snodgrass

Trustee (deceased)

Procedural Posture

Petition to Court of Session (inner House, Second Division) / Application for Exercise of Nobile Officium; Judgment on Competency

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether an application to the nobile officium of the Court is competent to authorise trustees to pay a legacy to a beneficiary
  2. 2 Whether the petitioner, being past childbearing, is entitled to payment of the legacy absolutely

Ratio Decidendi

An application to the nobile officium of the Court to authorise trustees to pay a legacy is incompetent where the matter concerns the administration of a private trust and can be resolved by ordinary legal proceedings; the proper remedy is a direct claim against the trustees, not a petition to the nobile officium.

Court Disposition

Petition refused as incompetent

Orders

  • Prayer of the petition refused