Dowgray v. Gilmour and Others [1907] ScotLR 559 (16 March 1907)

Dowgray v. Gilmour and Others [1907] ScotLR 559 (16 March 1907)

The pursuer was not entitled to prove the terms of the document by parole because he had not exhausted the proper means (diligence) to recover the document from the Crown. Nor was he entitled to compel the defenders to admit in the witness-box that they signed a document in the terms alleged, as their admission was only to signing a document of unknown terms, not the terms alleged by the pursuer.

Citation
[1907] ScotLR 559
Parties
Pursuer: John Dowgray; Defenders: Rev. John Gilmour and Others
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
16 March 1907
Procedural Posture
Civil (reparation/slander) / Bill of Exceptions Following Jury Trial
Outcome
exceptions disallowed; verdict for defenders affirmed
Legal Topics
Secondary Evidence, Proof of Documents, Admissions, Slander, Reparation
Civil Procedure Evidence Defamation Secondary Evidence Proof of Documents Admissions Slander Reparation

Case Brief

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Parties

John Dowgray

Pursuer

Rev. John Gilmour and Others

Defenders

Procedural Posture

Civil (reparation/slander) / Bill of Exceptions Following Jury Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the pursuer could prove the terms of a document by parole when the document was in the custody of Crown officials and no diligence had been applied for its recovery.
  2. 2 Whether the pursuer could put the defenders in the witness-box to prove they signed a document in the terms alleged when the defenders only admitted signing a document of unknown terms.

Ratio Decidendi

The pursuer was not entitled to prove the terms of the document by parole because he had not exhausted the proper means (diligence) to recover the document from the Crown. Nor was he entitled to compel the defenders to admit in the witness-box that they signed a document in the terms alleged, as their admission was only to signing a document of unknown terms, not the terms alleged by the pursuer.

Court Disposition

exceptions disallowed; verdict for defenders affirmed

Orders

  • Formal verdict for the defenders; exceptions by pursuer disallowed