Case Reports

A construction company which is being sued for £3.8 million by a hotelier following a contractual dispute has successfully challenged a court ruling preventing it from having the case resolved by adjudication. A judge in the Court of Session recalled the interim orders interdicting t

A party to an arbitration which was seeking to challenge an arbitrator’s award on the basis of an alleged “legal error” has had an application for leave to appeal against the decision refused. A judge in the Court of Session refused the application after ruling that the t

A motorist found guilty of “dangerous driving” after overtaking a camper van before slamming on the brakes and forcing the other driver to perform an “emergency stop” has failed in an appeal against his conviction. Mark McLaughlin claimed that the sheriff had erred in ho

A couple from Falkirk have succeeded in getting a proof before answer in their case against a whisky company. Thomas and Gail Chalmers brought an action against Diageo Scotland Ltd for damages of £40,000 caused by a whisky aging facility that they allege has diminished the value

The Crown has succeeded in challenging a sheriff’s pre-trial ruling that evidence gathered by so-called ‘paedophile hunters’ that the Crown proposed to induce at the trial of an alleged sex offender was inadmissible. The Procurator Fiscal at Dundee brought a Crown bill of

An ex-music teacher who was convicted of historic sex crimes against his former students has had an appeal against conviction and sentence refused. William Wright appealed against a conviction for indecent assault at the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary, sitting in Glasgow.

A short-term prisoner who was refused early release under Home Detention Curfew (HDC) under the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 has had his petition against the decision rejected. John Paton brought judicial review proceedings against the Scottish Government aft

A man who was found carrying a machete in a Cambuslang woodland has had his appeal against conviction for carrying an offensive weapon in public without a reasonable excuse refused. Christopher McCormick appealed against a conviction of carrying an offensive weapon under the Criminal Law (

A landlord who failed to pay a tenancy deposit into an approved deposit scheme until four years into the tenancy has been unsuccessful in challenging a payment order. Linda Searle appealed against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber (FtT) in which she

A couple who claimed their company’s solicitor had been negligent in his conduct during a purchase transaction have failed to establish negligence. Sajjad and Rumella Soofi brought an action against Jeffrey Martin Dykes for professional negligence in respect of their purchase of

A woman who appealed the granting of a contact order on the grounds that the sheriff had not ascribed appropriate weight to child evidence in light of expert evidence has had her appeal refused. The Sheriff Appeal Court, sitting in Edinburgh, heard an appeal by CM, the defender at first in

A man found guilty of the rape of two former partners on the basis of the principle of “mutual corroboration” has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court ruled that jury were entitled to infer that the two incidents were part of

The mother of a child with selective mutism has been unsuccessful in establishing that it would be in the child’s best interests to relocate to her native Germany and have that be the child's principal residence. Sheriff Ian Cruickshank heard evidence from MK, the pursuer, who sought a residen

A councillor suspended for making inappropriate remarks to a man seeking to renew his taxi licence has had his appeal against suspension refused by a court, in a case providing that when acting in a quasi-judicial capacity the enhanced protection afforded politicians to make political comment, under

A motorist who was found guilty of driving while using a mobile phone after filming the aftermath of a road traffic accident from behind the wheel of his van has seen a decision to quash his conviction upheld following an appeal. Ramsey Barreto was found guilty of a contravention of section 41D