Mitchell Skilling

The Inner House of the Court of Session has ruled that a “success fee” payable to the solicitor of a successful defender to a debt recovery action was not recoverable from the unsuccessful party that sought payment of the debt. The appellant, Catherine Weir, was originally the defender i

The High Court of Justiciary has upheld the decision of a preliminary hearing judge in respect of an application by a man charged with three counts of rape to reject the introduction of evidence concerning events following the sexual encounter described in the third charge, including legal proceedin

An appeal by the sisters of a Glasgow man with potentially terminal kidney disease seeking an order requiring him to comply with directions about future lifelong medical treatment has been allowed by the Sheriff Appeal Court. The appellants, RM and SB, were the appointed joint guardians of PKM, a 47

A US-based non-profit organisation that challenged the approach of the Scottish Ministers to the making of Unexplained Wealth Orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has had its petition for judicial review refused by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session. The Avaaz Founda

A sheriff in Dunfermline has determined that the death of a man who was electrocuted while operating a hedge trimmer could have been avoided if a risk assessment had been carried out on the area he was working in. The deceased, David Anderson, was a self-employed landscape gardener. He was declared

A commercial judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has refused to sist proceedings brought by the trustees of a pension fund against the sole employer liable to pay contributions to it. It was averred by the defender, British Polar Engines Ltd, that the matter of dispute in the action rai

An assistant head teacher at a school in Rochdale who retired after his cheekbone was fractured by a pupil has lost an appeal against an English court’s decision to reject his negligence claim against his former employer. Colin Cunningham argued that Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council had f

Two applications by former tenants of Glasgow properties made after their landlords failed to place their tenancy deposits into an approved tenancy deposit scheme have resulted in awards of £500 and £6,000 from The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland’s Housing and Property Chamber. Iv

A former investment firm employee who became convinced that his activities were being monitored by a Russian gang has lost an appeal against an employment tribunal’s decision that he did not have a mental disability. Stephen Sullivan was employed by Bury Street Capital Ltd, a small capital-rai

An Iraqi police officer who sought asylum on the basis that he was at risk of persecution if he returned to Iraq has been refused permission to appeal against a decision not to allow him to proceed with a judicial review of the decision to reject his application. The appellant, referred to as COF, h

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session hearing a commercial action by a contractor relating to the Aberdeen Harbour Expansion Project has rejected from proof averments by a supplier of stone that there was agreement that a lower class of material would be supplied than that specified in

The father of a man who suffered heavy brain damage as a result of a car accident has failed to challenge a finding of contributory negligence in an action for damages before the English Court of Appeal. Donald Campbell, who raised the action on behalf of his son Lyum Campbell, argued that no findin

An English judge has dismissed an appeal by a construction company that was ordered to pay over £220,000 to an aggregate supplier in exchange for supposedly defective aggregate it sold to them for the construction of a warehouse that liquefied in heavy rainfall. It was argued by Readie Constru

The Inner House of the Court of Session has allowed a reclaiming motion by the director of an oil company who sought millions of dollars in damages for the loss of value of his shareholdings after part of his shareholding was bought by the Lime Rock Group. It was held by the Lord Ordinary that Rober

The owners of a hotel in Renfrewshire have failed to overturn a decision of Renfrewshire Council to remove land adjacent to the hotel from a list of sites allocated for residential development. Cosmopolitan Hotels Ltd had applied for planning permission in principle for residential development at a