Gelly and Campbell v. Campbell

Alexander Campbell died intestate on December 9, 1769. After his death, an unsigned note was found among his effects, which expressed his intentions regarding the settlement of his estate. His eldest son, John, agreed to execute the terms of this settlement, which bequeathed £600 each on two of his daughters, Isabel and Margaret, who were at the time unmarried. Several years later, after both daughters had married, their husbands brought action against John Campbell for negligence in managing his father's estate. They requested that the estate be placed in the hands of an executor. One of their grievances concerned a three-acre plot in the Broomielaw, which Campbell had purchased from the estate for the price of £50. The pursuers stated that Campbell's unwillingness to grant them this land against their claim of £1200 was evidence that he had purposefully misrepresented its value. The case came before Lord Auchinleck, who authorized the pursuers to name an alternate executor. John Campbell then petitioned the Court to review this interlocutor, stating that the impatience of his brothers-in-law was a result of their ignorance of commercial matters. The pursuers responded that the eight-years delay in the settlement of the estate was in fact the result of gross negligence on his part.