Scottish Court of Session Decisions

By contract of marriage between the petitioner, Mrs Dunlop, and the late General Dunlop, the latter bound himself to provide her an annuity of £400, in the event of her survivanee, payable to trustees named in the deed, and in whose favour infeftment in security thereof was taken in General Dunlop's lands of Southwick. It was by the contract declared, “that it shall be competent to, and in the power of the said James Dunlop and Miss Julia Baillie, during their joint lives, by any joint deed or deeds to be executed by them, to nominate, substitute, and appoint one or more trustees in the room of any of those hereby named, who may happen to die or renounce the said trust; and in case of the death of the said James Dunlop during the lifetime of the said Julia Baillie, it shall be competent to her, with, consent of the majority of the trustees acting by virtue hereof for the time, to nominate, substitute, and appoint trustees, one or more, in the room of any of the said former trustees who may happen to die or decline farther acting; declaring, that the majority of the said trustees surviving and accepting for the time shall be a quorum, with full power to them, and to the last surviving and accepting trustee, failing all the rest, by himself alone, to do and execute all acts, deeds, and things which the said whole trustees could do jointly by virtue hereof.”

General Dunlop died in 1832, having been predeceased by all the trustees named in the contract, and Mrs Dunlop thereupon presented a petition to the Court, praying them ex nobili officio to appoint a factor to execute the trust; but their Lordships, holding that Mrs Dunlop had herself power to nominate trustees, in respect thereof

Refused the petition as unnecessary.