Countess Dowager of Glencairn v. William Cunningham Cunningham Graham

This case determined whether an heir of entail was statutorily bound to honor a liferent provision granted by an earlier heir, John Cunningham, Earl of Glencairn, to his wife, Isabella Erskine, Countess of Glencairn. The provision was not directly effectual against the estate because Earl John died without making up a feudal title (i.e., as heir apparent). After Earl John’s death, the estate passed to Robert Graham and then to his son William Cunningham Cunningham Graham. The Countess of Glencairn brought an action against William seeking to effectuate the liferent provision pursuant to the act 1695, c. 24.