Reduction of Alienations made by Bankrupts where the Reducer has done no Diligence.
Subject_3 SECT. III.
Alienations in favour of Conjunct and Confident Persons.
Hume v. Smith
Date: 5 July 1673 Case No. No 27b.
A wife's sister is considered to be a confident person.
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Margaret Hume pursues a reduction of a disposition granted by Robert Sinclair, of certain tenements to Katharine Smith, his wife's sister, as being betwixt conjunct and confident persons, without an onerous cause in prejudice of her, who is Sinclair's creditor; for albeit the disposition bore sums of money, yet the narrative did not prove betwixt conjunct persons, unless it were otherwise instructed.—It was answered for the defender, That law hath never interprete a wife's sister to be a confident person, meant by the act of Parliament, which hath been extended to father and son, and brother and brother, but never to a wife's sister.—It was replied, That it was extended to a good-brother in the case of Birnie contra———.
The Lords, before answer, ordained the defender to condescend upon the onerous cause of the disposition, and to adduce such evidences therefor as she could: And she adduced one witness, who deponed that he was witness to a bond of 350 merks, due by Sinclair to Smith, and that he heard Sinclair acknowledge that he was due to her 700 merks.
The Lords found this a sufficient adminicle to astruct the cause onerous of the disposition pro tanto, the defender giving her oath upon the verity thereof, and declared the lands redeemable from her thereupon.
