Case Reports

A carer who sued a local newspaper for defamation has had an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to dismiss the claim rejected. The Sheriff Appeal Court upheld the sheriff’s decision after ruling that there was “no basis” for finding that the article was defamatory.

A disgruntled litigant whose complaints against a Scots lawyer and a law firm were rejected as time-barred has had an appeal against the decision dismissed. A judge in the Inner House of the Court of Session held that the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), in exercise of its “gatekee

A man accused of the rape of woman while she was asleep who claimed that he had the consent of the complainer has had his appeal rejected. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court ruled that the terms of the legislation were “clear” that a person cannot consent to conduct while she is a

Relatives of a shipbuilder who died from an asbestos-related condition have been granted a jury trial in their action for damages against the deceased’s former employers. A judge in the Court of Session granted the pursuers’ motion to allow issues after rejecting the defenders’ cla

A man found guilty of rape who claimed that evidence of a charge of sexual assault could not provide “mutual corroboration” for the rape charge has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary held that the act of penetration need not be

Two police officers involved in the incident which led to the death of Sheku Bayoh have successfully challenged decisions to refuse their requests to retire on medical grounds. PC Nicole Short and PC Alan Paton, who have both been sick leave since the incident four years ago and who have yet to be t

The former leader of the Scottish Labour Party who was accused of defamation over a newspaper article in which she described a social media comment published online by a pro-independence blogger as “homophobic” has successfully defended a legal action against her. Stuart Campbell, publis

Two asylum seekers who claimed that it was “unlawful” for their housing provider to evict them by changing the locks to their homes without first obtaining a court order for their removal have had their legal challenges dismissed. In a test case, a judge in the Court of Session dismissed

An armed robber who was given an extended sentence of 18 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of carrying out a £500,000 jewellery heist at one of Scotland’s top hotels has had an appeal against his sentence rejected. Richard Fleming, who was convicted last year of the viol

Tommy Sheridan has failed in an appeal to have his perjury conviction referred to the High Court of Justiciary to consider whether he suffered a “miscarriage of justice”. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a decision of the Lord Ordinary to dismiss th

A woman sued for defamation by her ex-husband over her claim on Facebook that he “tried to strangle me” has had her appeal unanimously allowed by the Supreme Court on the basis an ordinary reader of the post would have interpreted it as meaning the ex-husband had grasped the woman by the

A businessman who raised a series of “hopelessly irrelevant” and “incompetent” legal actions after being sequestrated for failing to pay his council tax has been declared a “vexatious litigant”. The Inner House of the Court of Session granted an order ag

A motorist found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving who claimed that he “blacked out” behind the wheel as a result of medications he was prescribed has had a damages action against his GP dismissed. Vincent Friel sued Dr Ian Brown for “negligence”, bu

The surviving partner of an elderly woman who died after suffering gastrointestinal bleeding has been awarded more than £187,000 in damages, having successfully sued a Scottish health board following a junior doctor’s failure to admit the patient to hospital. A judge in the Court of

A Scottish local authority which sued engineering contractors over a failed social housing development that had to be demolished for health and safety reasons has had its £12 million damages claim dismissed. Midlothian Council raised an action against Blyth & Blyth Consulting Eng