Case Reports

A Scots lawyer who failed to respond to statutory notices which were issued in relation to a complaint that he acted for a client after being suspended from practice has been found guilty of professional misconduct. Paul Thompson was fined £1,000 after the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal

A woman found guilty of assaulting a dog owner with a dog lead has had an appeal against her conviction refused after her case was referred to the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC). The appeal judges rejected the appellant’s claim

A police officer who was found guilty of careless driving after crashing into another vehicle while responding to an emergency call has had an appeal against her conviction and sentence rejected. The Sheriff Appeal Court upheld a sheriff’s decision to convict and impose a fine after ruling that a

A businessman who is suing his former solicitors for $210 million over losses he claims to have sustained following the sale of part of his interest in a company has been awarded interim payment of expenses of £1 million. A judge in the Court of Session, who previously held that the claim by Robert

A Chinese national seeking permission to remain in the United Kingdom on human rights grounds has successfully challenged a decision by the authorities to reject her application. The judge in the Court of Session ruled that the Home Secretary “fell into error” in reaching her decision that the p

A woman who challenged a sheriff’s ruling that a pre-divorce agreement she made with her ex-husband was “unfair” because her former spouse had signed it without receiving legal advice has won her appeal. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the man’s decision to sign the agreement without see

A man found guilty of murdering a former girlfriend who claimed that evidence given by his ex-wife was so “prejudicial” that it rendered his trial “unfair” has had his appeal against conviction refused. The appellant argued that the trial judge erred in refusing a defence submission to deser

A woman charged with benefit fraud who challenged a sheriff’s decision to grant a motion to extend the timebar to allow prosecutors to bring her to trial after the case against her had previously been deserted has won her appeal. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary allowed the appeal

The family of a man who died in hospital after being admitted to the accident and emergency department have failed in their claim for damages despite the health board accepting that its staff were “negligent”. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that notwithstanding the fact that hospital staf

When a financial institution grants a loan denominated in a foreign currency, it must provide the borrower with sufficient information to enable him to take a prudent and well-informed decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. In 2007 and 2008, Ms Ruxandra Paula Andriciuc and o

A landowner who raised a legal action against the Scottish Ministers over what he claimed was a “natural right of drainage” has been granted declaratory that the M74 motorway interferes with that right. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the defenders were interfering with the pursuer’

A collective redundancy does not always qualify as an “exceptional case” permitting the dismissal of a pregnant worker, according to Advocate General Sharpston. In the context of a collective redundancy, the dismissal of pregnant workers may only occur in exceptional cases not connected to the p

Individuals seeking to challenge an age assessment in court should do so by judicial review, a judge has ruled. Lord Woolman in the Court of Session held that while an action for declarator was also a competent remedy, there were “decisive advantages” to proceeding by way of judicial review.

A foster parent found guilty of sexually abusing two children in his care has had his conviction quashed after his lawyers failed to obtain and lead evidence that could have been used at the trial to “undermine” the prosecution case and provide “support” for his defence. The Appeal Court of

A man found guilty of raping his partner who claimed that he “reasonably believed” she was consenting has failed in an appeal against his conviction. The appellant argued that the trial judge “misdirected” the jury by advising them that they could use evidence of the complainer’s distress