Case Reports

The Supreme Court has ruled that bonuses awarded by banks to employees in the form of redeemable shares in offshore companies, in order to take advantage of ITEPA provisions, should be treated – for income tax purposes – as if they had been paid in cash. Lord Neuberger, Lord Mance, Lord Reed, Lo

A man found guilty of murder whose conviction was later quashed following a successful appeal has had a legal bid for compensation for the years he spent in prison refused for a third time. A judge in the Court of Session dismissed the petition for judicial review of a decision to refuse the applica

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of a company which claimed a rival had infringed its design of a ride-on suitcase for children, affirming criticisms made by the Court of Appeal that the Community Registered Design (CRD) for the product was not simply a claim for a suitcase shape but for a

The niece of a woman who signed a deed disponing of her family home to other members of the family has been granted decree of reduction on the grounds that her aunt was “incapax” at the relevant date. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the deceased “did not have the necessary capacity�

A property developer which sued two separate companies for breaches of contract after both failed to complete the purchase of an area of land has had an action based on joint and several liability dismissed as “incompetent”. A judge in the Court of Session observed that in order for joint and se

A claim made by way of a plea is a “relevant claim” sufficient to interrupt the running of the five-year prescription period, appeal judges have ruled. The Inner House of the Court of Session held that a claim need not be made by a formal conclusion or counterclaim, in a case was about a dispute

The liquidator of a multi-million pound hedge fund who raised an action against the company’s solicitors alleging that the firm “breached its fiduciary duties” to its client will be able to pursue its claim. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the averments of the pursuer Paul Duffy, as

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that authorised Daimler dealers are not responsible for advertisements which, despite their efforts to have them removed, continue to associate their name with the trade mark “Mercedes-Benz” on the internet and also that Daimler cannot

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has confirmed that citrus fruit labelling indicating the preserving agents and other chemical substances used in post-harvest processing is compulsory. A provision of EU law on the marketing of citrus fruit (lemons, mandarins and oranges) provides th

of it”. Delivering the opinion of the court, the Lord Justice General said: “There is no requirement that the two sources of evidence be direct testimony from eye-witnesses. It is entirely legitimate to prove a case using, for example, one witness speaking to one incident and the hearsay eviden

A company which bought a whisky distillers and sought to intimate a £500,000 claim against the sellers has had its damages action rejected after it failed to serve a valid notice. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that while the pursuers had given proper notice to the defenders that a claim exi

A bank which granted a loan to company for the purchase of four commercial units but due to a solicitor’s “negligent misstatement” discharged the entire security when it ought to have been left in place in relation to two of the units is entitled to damages, appeal judges have ruled. By a majo

A Crown application to prosecute anew a man acquitted of murder nearly 25 years ago has been refused. The application was based on alleged admissions which were made or became known after the date of acquittal, but the Criminal Appeal Court refused the application, made under section 3 of the Double

The failure by the Lord Advocate to adopt and publish a policy identifying the facts and circumstances which he will take into account in deciding whether or not to authorise the prosecution in Scotland of a person who assists another to commit suicide does not breach human rights law, appeal judges

A minister who was found guilty of sexual assault charges has successfully appealed against his conviction after appeal judges ruled that the trial judge had “misdirected” the jury. The Criminal Appeal Court quashed the convictions against Walter Masocha after ruling that the sheriff failed to d