Leith School Board v. Clerk Rattray's Trustees and Another [1917] ScotLR 133 (06 December 1917)

Leith School Board v. Clerk Rattray's Trustees and Another [1917] ScotLR 133 (06 December 1917)

The grantor breached his obligation by failing to secure that future feuars would pay half the cost of constructing and maintaining the road, regardless of the form of disposition; compulsory acquisition did not relieve him unless impossibility was proven, which was not established on the record.

Citation
[1917] ScotLR 133
Parties
Pursuer: Leith School Board; Defender: Clerk Rattray's Trustees and Another; Third Party: Caledonian Railway Company
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
06 December 1917
Procedural Posture
Civil / Appeal (inner House, First Division)
Outcome
Interlocutor adhered to (with variation); defenders found liable in damages for breach of contract.
Legal Topics
Feu Contract, Breach of Contract, Servitude, Compulsory Acquisition, Damages
Property Law Contract Law Feu Contract Breach of Contract Servitude Compulsory Acquisition Damages

Case Brief

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Parties

Leith School Board

Pursuer

Clerk Rattray's Trustees and Another

Defender

Caledonian Railway Company

Third Party

Procedural Posture

Civil / Appeal (inner House, First Division)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the grantor of a feu-charter breached his obligation to secure that future feuars would pay half the cost of constructing and maintaining a road when he disposed of the land to a railway company under compulsory powers without imposing such an obligation.
  2. 2 Whether compulsory acquisition relieves the grantor from contractual obligations to the feuar.

Ratio Decidendi

The grantor breached his obligation by failing to secure that future feuars would pay half the cost of constructing and maintaining the road, regardless of the form of disposition; compulsory acquisition did not relieve him unless impossibility was proven, which was not established on the record.

Court Disposition

Interlocutor adhered to (with variation); defenders found liable in damages for breach of contract.

Orders

  • Defenders to pay £152, 10s. 2d. with interest from the date of summons in damages.
  • Variation: Delete words 'disabled himself from fulfilling and thereby' from interlocutor of 23rd June 1916.