Lambe v Finch (1626): An Early Seventeenth-Century Expectant Heir Chancery Suit in Context

Abstract

ABSTRACT The suit of Lambe v Finch (1626), at first glance, appears to offer evidence that the court of chancery’s jurisdiction to relieve expectant heirs from the consequences of their improvident bargains had at this time not yet developed to the point it was to reach in the latter part of the seventeenth century. However, if a contextual case study approach is taken, the significance of this particular suit to the development of the jurisdiction changes. By going beyond the information contained in the enrolled decree, a clearer – and qualitatively different – picture emerges; one which offers a more nuanced understanding of the jurisdiction to relieve expectant heirs, and sheds light on the involvement of one individual with the court of chancery in the early seventeenth century.