Case Reports

A woman who was fined £1,000 after being found guilty of a “racially aggravated offence” has had her sentence quashed after appeal judges said they had “difficulty” in comprehending why she was prosecuted in the first place. The Criminal Appeal Court admonished the appellant after observing

A divorced father-of-two who was sequestrated after failing to meet his maintenance commitments towards his ex-wife and children has had a petition for suspension of a charge for payment and interdict refused. Crawford Hill argued that payments he made to his former wife Sally-Anne Hunter following

A community council has been granted a protected expenses order limiting its liability for the costs of a legal action challenging a decision of a local authority. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that it would “fair and just” to limit the community council’s liability to £1,000 as they

A single mother-of-five has successfully challenged a council’s decision that it had discharged its duty to house her homeless family by offering accommodation in another local authority area more than 50 miles away. The UK Supreme Court ruled that the council had acted unlawfully and quashed the

In a Court of Session judgement issued on Thursday,Morton Fraser was successful in securing substantial damages for its client injured when her artery was punctured during a routine procedure at Falkirk & District Royal Infirmary in 2009. Morton Fraser represented Annabelle Bell of Falkirk, in a

A Polish woman faced with imprisonment in her homeland who claimed that a “serious medical condition” meant it would be “unjust or oppressive” to extradite her from Scotland has failed in appeal against a sheriff’s extradition order. The Criminal Appeal Court was “unable to fault the rea

An English Premier League footballer who was granted a gagging order against a woman selling a “kiss-and-tell” story to The Sun has had an application to maintain his anonymity rejected by a judge at the High Court in London. The player had claimed that the woman “blackmailed” him by demandi

A property development company which claimed that its lawyers were in “breach of contract” has been awarded more than £2.7 million. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the legal firm was “negligent” in its failure to ensure that the company complied with the terms of two revolving cr

Two social workers who were found in contempt of court for failing to comply with a child contact order made by a sheriff have successfully appealed to have the decision quashed. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of Session ruled that the social workers’ conduct “did not amount to a lack of

A company director and convicted fraudster who sued a newspaper over an article which he claimed was defamatory has had his action dismissed by a judge in the Court of Session. William Roddie, the sole director of Spectrum Properties (Scotland) Limited, raised an action against Associated Newspapers

The regulatory body for social workers in Scotland has successfully challenged a sheriff’s ruling that proceedings before its conduct sub-committee “engaged” article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Sheriff Principal Alastair Dunlop QC (pictured) allowed the Scottish Social Servic

An environmental group which challenged a Scottish local authority’s decision to grant planning permission for a new secondary school to be built in the Fife countryside has had a petition for judicial review dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the council’s decision was “law

A Scots lawyer who made dozens of false legal aid claims has been struck off the roll of solicitors after being found guilty of “professional misconduct”. Massimo D’Alvito submitted at least 81 accounts between October 2009 and October 2011 which contained “fictitious outcomes” - prompting

A pedicab driver who successfully challenged a Scottish local authority’s refusal to grant him a rickshaw licence has seen the decision overturned after the council successfully appealed to the Inner House of the Court of Session. The council licensing committee’s decision to refuse the applicat

At the High Court in Edinburgh today, Lord Uist(pictured) sentenced Brian McGregor to a punishment part of six years in prison and imposed an order for lifelong restriction after the accused was found guilty of charges of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger to life, and robb