Scottish Court of Session Decisions

In the case reported ante, June 9, p. 878, a question arose, whether, the additional expenses incurred by Grant in the Inner-House were due to him, in respect that the Court, while they made certain specific alterations on the interlocutor of the Lord Ordinary adhered quoad ultra, and one of the findings so adhered to was in favour of Grant on the point of expenses. But there was no special finding in the Inner-House interlocutor awarding the Inner-House expenses to Grant. The auditor held such expenses to be carried by the interlocutor, and reported Grant's account of expenses accordingly; and Sir George Rose objected to the report.

The Dean of Faculty called the attention of the Court to the inconvenience resulting from the opposite course which was pursued by the several Divisions of the Court in regard to Inner-House expenses. When the Lord Ordinary found expenses due, their Lordships of the First Division held that an interlocutor of adherence carried the expenses of the Inner-House, though not specially moved for, and was a warrant to the clerk to insert a special finding, awarding these expenses to the successful party. Their Lordships of the Second Division, on the other hand, did not hold Inner-House expenses to be carried, unless specially moved for and granted. It was submitted that the adoption of one rule for both Divisions would be of much practical convenience, and perhaps the rule of the Second Division of the Court was, on the whole, the safest.

Their Lordships expressed a unanimous opinion that it was proper to adopt one rule for both Divisions, and farther intimated that they would in future follow the same course which had hitherto been practised in the Second Division.