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 Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

, born at Acton Green, London. From his mother's side, he was descended from Sir Edward Coke. He was educated at University College School, and studied for a time at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1898 and achieved

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) 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 doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

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 entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

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, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

'', consisting of a translation of the general part of Thibaut'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 (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...

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 purpos ...

. 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, later Chief Justice of Bengal, and Frederick Pollock. He took silk in February 1872. In 1874 he was elected a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the Middle Temple, of which he was treasurer in 1894

Judicial career

In 1875, he was appointed to be a Serjeant-at-law and a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, the appointment of a chancery barrister to a common law court being justified by the fusion of

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and equity 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 the Parliament of the United Kingdom, beginning in the 1870s, which aimed to fuse the hitherto split system of courts of England and Wales. The ...

. In 1875, he was knighted. In 1880 he became a justice of the Queen's Bench and in 1881 he was raised to be a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

and was sworn of the Privy Council. In 1897, Lord Justice Lindley succeeded Lord Esher as

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 ...

, and in 1900 he was made a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

and the title of Baron Lindley, of East Carleton in the County of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. 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 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 East Carleton, 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 21st edition (2022).

Cases

Company law

*'' Allen v Gold Reefs of West Africa Ltd'' 9001 Ch 656 * '' Illingworth v Houldsworth'' 904AC 355, on

floating charge In finance, 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 ...

s *'' Isle of Wight Rly Co v Tahourdin'' (1884) LR 25 Ch D 320 - a

UK company law British company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, the UK Corporate Governance Code, European Union Directive (European Union), Directives and court cases, the company is th ...

case on removing directors under the Companies Clauses Act 1845. *''

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 ...

'' 897AC 22

Contract law

*'' Allcard v Skinner'' (1887) 36 Ch D 145 *'' Byrne v Van Tienhoven'' 8805 CPD 344 *'' Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company'' EWCA Civ 1
892
EWCA Civ 1
[18931 QB 256, [1892">893">892
EWCA Civ 1
[18931 QB 256, [18922 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'' (Lindley sitting in the Court of Appeal) [1884] UKHL 1, [1881-85] All 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 law, 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. It is commonly referred to a ...

*'' Parker v South Eastern Railway'' (1877) 2 CPD 416

Property

*'' Colls v Home and Colonial Stores'' (1904) * '' Chatenay v Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Company Ltd'' 891QB 79 - choice of law in relation to transactions under foreign powers of attorney

Tort

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

Trusts and equity

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

Other

*'' Knox v Gye'' (1872) *'' In re Addlestone Linoleum Co'' (1887) 37 Ch D 191 *'' South Hetton Coal Co v Haswell, Shotton and Easington Coal and Coke Co'' 8981 Ch. 465 *'' Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants'' 901AC 426 *'' Scottish Free Church case'' 904AC 515 *'' Shepheard v Broome'' 904AC 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 Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws