Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 DECISIONS of the LORDS OF COUNCIL AND SESSION, collected by JAMES BURNETT, LORD MONBODDO.

Paterson
v.
-

Date: 8 December 1742

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[Elch., Indefinite Payment.]

Found, that indefinite payment is not to be imputed in duriorem sortem, according to the rule of the Roman law, but, on the contrary, it is to be imputed towards the payment of that debt which is either worse secured, or bears no interest; because it cannot be supposed that the creditor would accept of a partial payment of the debt best secured and yielding most profit, without doing immediate diligence for the other debts; and therefore, it is reasonable that the imputation should be made by the law, in the same manner as it probably would have been made by the express agreement of parties. On this principle, the Roman law, where there are interests due, imputes the payment first to the satisfaction of them before the principal.

This decision was unanimous.