Case Reports

A man jailed for eight years for the rape of two women has had his convictions quashed after Appeal Court judges ruled he suffered a miscarriage of justice. Lord Eassie, sitting with Lady Smith and Lady Clark of Calton ruled that Alan Clark, 40, suffered a miscarriage of justice.

A lorry driver found guilty of dangerous driving and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm, who claimed that a sheriff erred in repelling a “no case to answer” submission, had an appeal against conviction refused. The Cr

An executor of an estate has been granted reduction of a disposition in favour of a couple who claimed they regarded a residential property in which they had been living as their home. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that allowing the couple to take and remain in occupation of the property was

The son of a woman who signed deeds disposing of three properties to her other two sons has been granted decrees of reduction on the grounds of “facility and circumvention” and by “undue influence” exercised over his late mother by his brothers. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the

A Scots law firm whose complaint to the legal complaints watchdog about the conduct of a solicitor from another firm was ruled ineligible has successfully appealed against the decision. The firm complained to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission that the lawyer may have been guilty of profession

The Crown has successfully challenged the sentence imposed on a man who pled guilty to attempting to conspire to rape and sexually assault a young girl and to take indecent photographs of her. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment imposed was “unduly lenien

An Egyptian national who appealed against a decision of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, made in agreement with a UN committee, to freeze his assets because he was associated with Al-Qaida has had his appeal unanimously dismissed by the Supreme Court. President of the Sup

A life prisoner who challenged a decision by the prison service to increase his supervision requirement after he was suspected of being involved in the distribution of illicit substances in jail has had a petition for judicial review dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused the petition af

A retired academic who contracted a rare form of cancer which he claimed was the result of exposure to asbestos during the course of his employment at a university has had an action for £180,000 damages dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session assoilzied the defenders after ruling that the pursue

A woman who was found guilty of dangerous driving after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into an oncoming vehicle has lost an appeal against conviction. Judges in the Criminal Appeal Court ruled that in the absence of special circumstances the act of falling asleep is a “voluntary act” a

The owner of a farmhouse destroyed by a fire who claimed that the fire service failed to properly extinguish the blaze has had an action for damages dismissed. The pursuers argued that the fire brigade was liable in damages because the fire re-ignited after it had apparently been extinguished, but j

A prisoner serving a determinate sentence who claims that the Scottish Prison Service have failed to provide him with the opportunity to show that he no longer poses a risk to the public has had an application for permission to seek judicial review dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused

A Scots lawyer who was awarded £150,000 after suing a former client, but later saw the decision overturned after a judge ruled that the initial writ was not validly served because the solicitor had been suspended from practising, has failed in an appeal. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of Se

The family of a boy who died in a tragic accident while attending the Royal Highland Show have had a motion for summary against the operators of the event refused. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the pursuers failed to meet the “high test” required of them for their motion to succeed.

A motion to remit a £25,000 damages action to the new national personal injury court has been refused by a judge in the Court of Session. Lord Boyd of Duncansby held that the fact that a claim was “small and straightforward” was not in itself enough to justify remit to the sheriff court.