Case Reports

Controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport have been thrown into doubt following a successful legal challenge by environmental campaigners. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales ruled that the UK Government’s proposed expansion of Europe’s busiest a

A complainer in a rape and domestic abuse assault case successfully challenged a court order authorising the accused to recover her medical records in a bid to disclose any “mental health problems”. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary ruled that the applicatio

An admin worker affected by epilepsy who was sacked from her job at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) because she was unable to meet the standards of performance and attendance expected during her probationary period has been awarded more than £30,000 in compensatio

A Nigerian national who lodged a human right claim to remain in the UK with members of her extended family has successfully challenged a decision to refuse her application to appeal. The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) rejected the petitioner’s claim that she had developed

A Scots lawyer who acted on behalf of a woman who was seeking to buy her estranged husband’s share in their former matrimonial home so she could remain in the property with her children, while also acting for the woman’s new partner who had agreed to fund the purchase and let the propert

A motorist found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving who claimed that he “blacked out” behind the wheel as a result of medication he was prescribed has had a £500,000 damages action against his GP dismissed following an appeal. Vincent Friel sued Dr Iain Brown&nb

A company set up to deliver a number of new schools and community centres in North Lanarkshire that sued a construction company over defects in the development of one of the building projects has been granted a court order to enforce an adjudicator’s decision in its favour. The defenders had c

The Upper Tribunal for Scotland refused an appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), which had rejected the tenant’s claim after finding that he requested the arrangement.  ‘Pre-payment agreement’

A man found guilty of murdering his friend after causing him to fall down a flight of stairs and repeatedly kicking and stamping on his head and body has successfully appealed against his conviction. Ralph Goldie was convicted of killing Jeremy Paradine following a drunken fight in a flat he sh

A homeowner who sued his former lawyers after they failed to advise him to include a survivorship clause when transferring the title of his property into the joint names of himself and his then fiancée, who later died and left her half-share to her children from a previous relationship, has h

A property developer who claimed that a Scottish local authority’s decision to demolish a leisure centre was “unlawful” has had his legal challenge dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused a petition for judicial review by Mark Guild, who was seeking reduction of the deci

The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court held that the concept of “art and part guilt” had “no part to play” in establishing the statutory offence under section 4(3)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but ruled that the misdirections did not result in a misca

A Scots lawyer who became embroiled in a “tense and heated” exchange of emails with a former client in which the solicitor said “what would you expect from a pig but a grunt” has been found guilty of “professional misconduct”. Ross Porter, 56, was censured by the&

A student from Afghanistan who has lived in the UK for more than five years has had a legal challenge against a decision to refuse her application for indefinite leave to remain dismissed. The petitioner was seeking to continue her studies in aircraft engineering, but the Home Office rejected her ap

A man who was found guilty of breaking into a dead person’s home and stealing a quantity of jewellery after his DNA was found on a torch which was left in the property has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. Michael Ritchie claimed it was his brother who committed the crime and