Fergus Morton, Baron Morton of Henryton

Fergus Dunlop Morton, Baron Morton of Henryton, MC, PC (17 October 1887 – 18 July 1973) was a British barrister and judge who was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1947 to 1959. The son of a Scottish stockbroker, Morton was educated in Scotland and England, before being called to the English bar. After serving with the British Army in the First World War, during which he won the Military Cross, he developed a successful Chancery practice. He was appointed to the High Court in 1938, promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1944, and to the House of Lords in 1947, retiring from judicial service in 1959.

Background and education Born in Glasgow, Morton was the youngest child and one of three sons of George Morton and Janet, née Wilson. His father, from a farming family, left school aged thirteen and acquired a considerable fortune as a stockbroker. He was educated at Kelvinside Academy and then went to St John's College, Cambridge with an open scholarship in classics. Both of his brothers were killed in the war.

From 1918–19, Morton was attached to the War Office, before resuming his career at the Chancery bar. His practice grew rapidly, and he became a King's Counsel in 1929. In 1932 he was elected a bencher of Lincoln's Inn (serving as treasurer in 1953). He was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1944 and on this occasion was sworn of the Privy Council. Three years thereafter the number of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary was increased to nine and one of the new seats was assigned to Morton.

Morton joined the Council of Legal Education in 1949, which he left after four years. and in the subsequent year he became chairman of the Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce (named the Morton Commission). Lincoln's Inn selected him its treasurer in 1953.

Honours In 1940, he was nominated an honorary fellow by his former college and in 1951 received Honorary Doctorates of Law by the University of Cambridge as well as the University of Glasgow. Both the American Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association made Morton honorary members. He became also an honorary member of the Faculty of Advocates.

Notable decisions Margarine Reference AC 179 – Canadian federalism Paris v Stepney Borough Council AC 367 – standard of care Canada Steamship Lines Ltd v R AC 192 – unfair terms contra proferentem Lister v Romford Ice and Cold Storage Co Ltd AC 555 – vicarious liability

Family Morton married Margaret Greenlees, elder daughter of James Begg; they had a daughter. He died aged 85 in 1973.

Arms