City of Glasgow Bank Liquidation – (Rer’s Case) Alan Ker (Fyfe’s Trustee) v The Liquidators: HL 20 May 1879

Public Company – Winding-up – Circumstances from which Authority to Register inferred.
The name of a trustee under a marriage-contract was by the instructions of the agent to the trust entered along with the names of his co-trustees in the register of members of a joint-stock company. The trustee himself never by any formal writing accepted office, nor did he directly authorise his name to be placed upon the list of shareholders. He, however, shortly after the marriage signed as trustee a warrant authorising payment of the dividend, and he accepted in the same capacity the transfer of some railway stock belonging to the trust. On more than one occasion he expressed a wish to resign, but without actually resigning. On the dissolution of the marriage he sent a formal declinature of office, which was accepted and acted upon by the other trustees.
held ( aff. judgment of Court of Session) that in the circumstances as proved he had by his actings accepted the office of trustee, and had assented to the transfer of stock into his name, and that even if he had resigned the trusteeship afterwards, which he had not, the resignation was inoperative, as it had not been communicated to the bank.

Judges:

Lord Chancellor (Cairns), Lord Hatherley, Lord O’Hagan, Lord Selborne, and Lord Gordon

Citations:

[1879] UKHL 507, 16 SLR 507

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Insolvency, Company

Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.637961