Mitchell Skilling

Two men who were found guilty of raping a woman in a flat in Edinburgh have successfully challenged their convictions in the High Court of Justiciary. The appellants, AW and HB, argued that the trial judge had failed to direct the jury on a number of key issues in the trial, including details on how

A conveyancer who discovered she no longer had a job while she was on adoption leave from summer 2020 to spring 2021 has been successful in a claim for statutory redundancy payment before an employment tribunal. Catriona Pattullo had been employed by solicitor John Paterson Gray, who had traded as A

A commercial judge has ruled that the compulsory liquidation of a party to a litigation settlement agreement caused frustration of the contract and removed any requirement to pay the other parties to the case proceeds from the sale of a property in Edinburgh. Colonnade Properties Ltd and other trust

Two men who were convicted of attempting to communicate with children for sexual gratification based on evidence gathered by “paedophile hunter” groups have had their appeals against conviction refused by the High Court of Justiciary. John Quinn and Mark Sutherland argued that the eviden

A Crown appeal against a sheriff’s decision to accept a no case to answer submission from a man accused of committing indecent acts against children has been allowed by the High Court of Justiciary. It had been argued by the accused and respondent, BL, that the evidence led in respect of two c

A court of five judges in the High Court of Justiciary has refused an appeal by a former diplomat and self-styled journalist against a finding that he was in contempt of court for material he published relating to the case against Alex Salmond.  Craig Murray, who was not an accredited journalis

An appeal tribunal has ruled that an Employment Tribunal decision not to order a Swiss bank to provide a newspaper with copies of its skeleton arguments, witness statements, and other documents following the conclusion of a case was wrong in law. Guardian News & Media Ltd had sought the document

A primary school teacher who was injured while playing a game of tag on a physical education training course has failed to establish that her employer was liable for her injury. Glenda Mackenzie, aged 42 at the time of the accident, suffered a fracture to her right elbow as well as cuts to her knees

The Supreme Court has ruled that an English law firm offering a “no win, no fee” service in respect of passenger compensation claims for flight cancellations is entitled to an equitable lien from an airline in respect of its costs after it changed its procedure relating to compensation c

The family of a man who died after raising an action against his former employer for damages related to asbestos-related lung cancer has been permitted to enter the claim by a judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session. Provisional damages of £30,000 had previously been awarded to the or

An Italian man who had his UK bank account reported for suspicious activity has lost an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to extend a moratorium for the authorities to make further enquiries. Cristian Picco, who was not present when the sheriff approved the extension under sections 336A and

The Sheriff Appeal Court has ruled that a sheriff hearing a divorce action was entitled to find that the relevant date on which the parties ceased cohabiting fell after a period in which the husband was staying regularly at the matrimonial home at his wife’s invitation. The sheriff had found t

An English couple that lost over £700,000 to an “authorised push payment” fraud have won a High Court appeal seeking to establish that it was possible their bank owed them a duty of care. Fiona Philipp, the appellant, argued that Barclays Bank owed her a duty of care to be alert to

A man who assaulted a nurse in a Dundee hospital and sang offensive remarks at another nurse with an Irish accent has successfully had the length of his cumulative sentence reduced by the Sheriff Appeal Court. It was argued by counsel for William Hutchison that the overall headline sentence imposed

A councillor who received a 16-month disqualification from the Standards Commission for Scotland under the Ethical Standards in Public Life (Scotland) Act 2000 after being accused of harassing his staff has won an appeal in the Court of Session seeking to have the term reduced. It was argu