Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley, (29 November 1828 – 9 December 1921) was an English judge.

Early life

He was the second son of the botanist Dr.

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

, born at Acton Green, London. From his mother's side, he was descended from

Sir Edward Coke ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

, and studied for a time at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1898 and achieved

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1903.

Legal career

He was called to the bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1850, and began practice in the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

. In 1855 he published ''An Introduction to the Study of

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

'', consisting of a translation of the general part of

Thibaut Thibaut is a name of French origin, a form of Theobald. Surname * Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut (17721840), German jurist * Bernhard Friedrich Thibaut (17751832), German mathematician * François Thibaut (born 1948), American educator * George ...

's ''System des Pandekten Rechts'', with copious notes. In 1860 he published in two volumes his ''Treatise on the Law of Partnership, including its Application to

Joint Stock A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

and other Companies'', and in 1862 a supplement including the

Companies Act 1862 The Companies Act 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c.89) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating UK company law, whose descendant is the Companies Act 2006. Provisions *s 6 'Any seven or more persons associated for any lawful purpose may ...

. This work has since been developed into two textbooks well known to lawyers as ''Lindley on Companies'' and ''Lindley on Partnership''. Among his pupils were

Francis William Maclean Sir Francis William Maclean (13 December 1844 – 11 November 1913) was an English barrister and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1891. Maclean was the third son of Alexander Maclean, of Barrow Hedges, Cars ...

, later Chief Justice of Bengal, and Frederick Pollock. He

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or a ...

in February 1872. In 1874 he was elected a bencher of the Middle Temple, of which he was treasurer in 1894

Judicial career

In 1875, he was appointed to be a

Serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

and a Justice of the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, the appointment of a chancery barrister to a common-law court being justified by the fusion of

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

and

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

then shortly to be brought about, in theory at all events, by the

Judicature Acts In the history of the courts of England and Wales, the Judicature Acts were a series of Acts of Parliament, beginning in the 1870s, which aimed to fuse the hitherto split system of courts of England and Wales. The first two Acts were the Supre ...

. In 1875, he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. In 1880 he became a justice of the

Queen's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

and in 1881 he was raised to be a Lord Justice of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

and was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. In 1897, Lord Justice Lindley succeeded

Lord Esher Viscount Esher, of Esher in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 November 1897 for the prominent lawyer and judge William Brett, 1st Baron Esher, upon his retirement as Master of the Rolls ...

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

, and in 1900 he was made a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

with a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

and the title of Baron Lindley, of

East Carleton East Carleton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located east of nearby Wymondham and south-west of Norwich. History East Carleton's name is of Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin and derives from an amalg ...

in the County of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. He resigned the judicial post in 1905. Prior to the 1875 reforms, the appointment of serjeants-at-law had already declined, but common law judges could only be appointed from amongst the serjeants-at-law, so it was customary for any appointee who was not yet a serjeant to be appointed a serjeant immediately prior to being appointed a judge. As the requirement for common law judges to be serjeants was abolished shortly after, Lord Lindley became the last

serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

appointed, and the last judge to wear the serjeant's coif, or rather the black patch representing it, on the judicial wig. Mount Lindley in Antarctica is named after him.

Family

He married Sarah Katharine, daughter of Edward John Teale of Leeds, on 5 Aug 1858. He died at home in

, near Norwich, in 1921. They had nine children, including diplomat Sir Francis Oswald Lindley and the army officer Major-General

Coat of arms

Writing

Lord Lindley published two notable works, ''Lindley on Companies'' and ''Lindley on Partnership''. The latter is still published today, as ''Lindley and Banks on Partnership'', now in its 20th edition (2017).

Cases

Company law

*'' Allen v Gold Reefs of West Africa Ltd''

900 __NOTOC__ Year 900 ( CM) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Caliphate * Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are ...

1 Ch 656 * ''

Illingworth v Houldsworth ''Illingworth v Houldsworth'' 904AC 355 (known as or ''Re Yorkshire Woolcombers Association'' in the Court of Appeal) is a UK insolvency law case, concerning the taking of a security interest over a company's assets with a floating charge. In th ...

904 __NOTOC__ Year 904 ( CMIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * July 29 – Sack of Thessalonica: A Muslim fleet, led by the Greek ren ...

AC 355, on

floating charge A floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person. Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of an ambulator ...

s *''

Isle of Wight Rly Co v Tahourdin ''Isle of Wight Railway Company v Tahourdin'' (1884) LR 25 Ch D 320 is a UK company law case on removing directors under the old Companies Clauses Act 1845. In the modern Companies Act 2006, section 168 allows shareholders to remove of directors ...

'' (1884) LR 25 Ch D 320 - a

UK company law The United Kingdom company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, the UK Corporate Governance Code, European Union Directives and court cases, the company is the primary legal ...

case on removing directors under the

Companies Clauses Act 1845 A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

. *''

Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd is a landmark UK company law case. The effect of the House of Lords' unanimous ruling was to uphold firmly the doctrine of corporate personality, as set out in the Companies Act 1862, so that creditors of an insolvent company could not sue the ...

897 __NOTOC__ Year 897 ( DCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – King Lambert II travels to Rome with his mother, Queen Agelt ...

AC 22

Contract law

*''

Allcard v Skinner ''Allcard v Skinner'' (1887) 36 Ch D 145 is a judicial decision under English law dealing with undue influence Undue influence (UI) is a psychological process by which a person's free will and judgement is supplanted by that of another. It ...

'' (1887) 36 Ch D 145 *'' Byrne v Van Tienhoven''

880 __NOTOC__ Year 880 (Roman numerals, DCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Cephalonia: A Byzantine Empire, Byzantine flee ...

5 CPD 344 *''

Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company ''Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company'' 892EWCA Civ 1is an English contract law decision by the English Court of Appeal">Court of Appeal, which held an advertisement containing certain terms to get a reward constituted a binding unilateral of ...

'' EWCA_Civ_1
_[1893.html" ;"title="892
EWCA Civ 1
[1893">892
EWCA Civ 1
[18931 QB 256, [1892] 2 QB 484 (QBD) - an advertisement containing certain terms to get a reward constituted a binding unilateral offer that could be accepted by anyone who performed its terms. *''Creen v Wright'' (1875–76) LR 1 CPD 591 *''

Foakes v Beer is an English contract law case, which applied the controversial pre-existing duty rule in the context of part payments of debts. It is a leading case from the House of Lords on the legal concept of consideration. It established the rule that ...

'' (Lindley sitting in the Court of Appeal) 884UKHL 1, 881-85All ER Rep 106, (1884) 9 App Cas 605; 54 LJQB 130; 51 LT 833; 33 WR 233 - a leading case from the House of Lords on the legal concept of

consideration Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. The court in ''Currie v Misa'' declared ...

*''

Parker v South Eastern Railway ''Parker v South Eastern Railway'' 8772 CPD 416 is a famous English contract law case on exclusion clauses where the court held that an individual cannot escape a contractual term by failing to read the contract but that a party wanting to rely o ...

'' (1877) 2 CPD 416

Property

*''

Colls v Home and Colonial Stores ''Colls v Home and Colonial Stores'' 904UKHL 1 is an English tort law case concerning the entitlement to daylight where a right to light exists. Facts Home and Colonial Stores owned land at 44 Worship Street, Shoreditch, London EC2. They pr ...

'' (1904)

Tort

*''

Quinn v Leathem ''Quinn v Leathem'' 901UKHL 2 is a case on economic tort and is an important case historically for British labour law. It concerns the tort of "conspiracy to injure". The case was a significant departure from previous practices, and was reversed ...

'' 901AC 495 *'' Robinson v Kilvert'' (1889) LR 41 ChD 88

Trusts and equity

*''

Speight v Gaunt ''Speight v Gaunt'' 883UKHL 1is an English trusts law case, concerning the extent of the duty of care owed by a fiduciary. Facts Mr John Speight, a Bradford industrialist, had appointed Mr Isaac Gaunt and Mr Alfred Wilkinson as trustees for his ...

'' (1883) 9 App Cas 1 *'' In re Whiteley'' (1886) 33 Ch D 347, 355

Other

*'' Knox v Gye'' (1872) *''

In re Addlestone Linoleum Co IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

'' (1887) 37 Ch D 191 *''

South Hetton Coal Co v Haswell, Shotton and Easington Coal and Coke Co South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

898 __NOTOC__ Year 898 ( DCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 1 – King Odo I (or Eudes) dies at La Fère (Northern France) af ...

1 Ch. 465 *''

Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants ''Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants'' 901AC_426 *''Bannatyne_v_Overtoun.html" ;"title="901UKHL 1 commonly known as the ''Taff Vale case'', is a formative case in UK labour law. It held that, at common law, Trade union, unions could be liable for loss of profits t ...

'' 901AC 426 *''Bannatyne v Overtoun">Scottish Free Church case''

AC 515 *''Shepheard v Broome''

AC 342

Books

*Nathaniel Lindley, ''An Introduction to the Study of Jurisprudence; Being a Translation of the General Part of Thibaut’s System des Pandekten Rechts''
William Maxwell, 1855

Notes

References

* * Attribution: * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindley, Nathaniel Lindley, Baron 1828 births 1921 deaths Law lords 20th-century English judges People from Acton, London People educated at University College School Serjeants-at-law (England) Members of the Middle Temple Queen's Bench Division judges Masters of the Rolls Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Fellows of the Royal Society Justices of the Common Pleas Common Pleas Division judges Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Life peers created by Queen Victoria 19th-century English judges