Scottish Court of Session Decisions

This was an application under sec. 3 of the Rutherfurd Act for authority to disentail. The petitioner was born in 1815, and the tailzie under which he held was dated in 1823.

The three nearest heirs of entail whose consents were required were his brother William Somervell, born in 1849, and his two sons, aged six and three years respectively at the date of the application.

On the motion of the petitioner the Lord Ordinary appointed a curator ad litem to act for both the heirs in pupillarity. In the course of the proceedings a question was raised by the reporter, Mr H. B. Dewar, S.S.C., whether one curator ad litem could competently act for two minor heirs whose consents were required.

Argued for the petitioner—Section 12 of the Entail (Scotland) Act 1882 introduced a different rule with regard to the appointment of curators, from that laid down by sec. 31 of the Rutherfurd Act, and that under it the number of curators to be appointed where there were two minor heirs whose consents were required was left entirely to the discretion of the Court.