Diligence

Question 1

Mitchells v Fergusson

Diligence trumps personal right

Answer 1

 An owner of property conveyed the property to a third party (sold property – got price)
 The transferee did not complete the real right of ownership (did not go through the procedural steps)
 In the interim the seller of the property owes money to a creditor.
 Creditor goes to the court and raises an action of adjudication, and gets decree.
 The creditor registers the adjudication over the property before the buyer validly registers the property.
 So the adjudger gets a real right before the buyer gets the real right of ownership.
 HELD, that the adjudger wins. Because the adjudger got the real right whilst the debtor was still the owner.
 ***SO where there is competition between diligence and a personal right, the diligence wins.