A railway company contracted by ‘ledger agreement’ with a coal merchant to allow credit for the carriage of coal. Certain allotments of space within the premises of the railway company were leased by it to the coal merchant. The ledger agreement provided that the railway company should have a continual lien for the balance of freight over the coal in course of being carried and also over coal stored upon the allotments. The allotments were situated within the company’s yard, which was regularly locked by the company at night. The coal merchant’s account being in arrear, the company locked the gates leading to the allotments and held possession of coal stored there, excluding the coal merchant.
Held ( diss. Lords Robertson and Collins) that the railway company were in possession of the coal in the allotments and that they had a valid lien.
Judges:
Lord Chancellor (Loreburn), Lords Macnaghten, Robertson, Atkinson, and Collins
Citations:
[1908] UKHL 1024, 46 SLR 1024
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Landlord and Tenant, Insolvency
Updated: 26 April 2022; Ref: scu.621529