James Buchanan and John Auld v. Adam Grant

This case was about the payment of a decedent’s debts. James Buchanan and John Auld, pursuers, were creditors to an estate under the supervision of a factor, William Galdie. According to the pursuers, William died owing a balance to the estate. To recover the balance, the pursuers attempted to arrest funds in the hands of William’s creditors, including defenders Adam Grant and John Wood. However, these arrestments were ineffective because the defenders had already distributed most of William’s funds at the direction of his general disponee, George Galdie. The pursuers argued that these distributions could not defeat their claims, because George lacked the legal title necessary to order them. The pursuers also claimed that the payments were part of a scheme to favor certain creditors.