Case Reports

A man found guilty of being concerned in the supply of heroin who claimed that DNA evidence linking him with the bags in which the drugs were found was insufficient for the jury to draw an inference of guilt has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. The Appeal Court of the High Court o

A prisoner who claimed that the prison authorities breached his human rights by failing to provide him with rehabilitation has had a claim for £10,000 damages dismissed. The petitioner argued that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) violated his “right to liberty” in terms of article

A man accused of sexual offences against his partner and son who was seeking to introduce evidence that the mother of their children had induced her sons to make false allegations against him and others has had his application rejected. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary rule

A foreign student who pled guilty to fraud after falsely claiming she had indefinite leave to remain in order to obtain £23,000 in student funding to pay for a nursing course has successfully appealed against her 14-month prison sentence. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary ruled

A plumber who injured his arm while playing football over 16 years ago has been awarded more than £540,000 in damages after a Scottish health board admitted liability over its “negligent diagnosis and treatment” of the injury. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that, h

An oil and gas company has been granted a court order to prohibit environmental campaigners from carrying out protests on four offshore installations in the North Sea. Shell UK was granted an interdict to prevent Greenpeace activists from boarding or attempting to board the Brent Alph

A woman who claimed she was repeatedly raped by her late stepfather is suing the executor of his estate for damages in a landmark case. The woman’s stepbrother, the executor of the estate, argued that the action should not be allowed to proceed because it would not be possible for fair hearing

A man found guilty of the repeated rape of his former partner and her granddaughter on the basis of the doctrine of “mutual corroboration” has had an appeal against his conviction refused. The appellant claimed that the trial judge’s decision to allow a Crown motion to amend one of

A man acquitted of rape following a trial who was jailed for three years after being found guilty of a separate charge of failing to appear for a preliminary hearing of his case – because he had gone to Ibiza – has had his sentence reduced on appeal. The Criminal Appeal Court r

The All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court has issued a judgment to give some guidance on motions for certification of skilled persons and sanction for the employment of counsel made under new court rules introduced in 2019. Sheriff Kenneth McGowan said the terms of motions should

The father of a man with severe physical and learning disabilities has successfully challenged a Scottish local authority’s decision to close an adult day care centre, after a judge found that the council acted “unlawfully” by failing to consult users who relied on the service. The

The three-month time limit for raising judicial review proceedings begins on the date when the decision under challenge is made and not when the party seeking to bring the action is notified of the decision. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the time limit under section 27A of the

A man who admitted a domestic assault charge after being released from prison on licence following a previous conviction for housebreaking has had his sentence for the latest offence reduced from 27 months to 17 months on appeal, in a new guideline judgment on how to take into account time spent on

A lender which sued two customers for payment of outstanding sums due on car sale agreements has successfully appealed against decisions to refuse to grant decree in their favour after the actions were undefended. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the sheriffs erred in considering that the vehicle

Homeowners who were ordered by a court to pay a proportion of the cost of maintaining the amenity grounds in their housing scheme after being sued by an estate and land management company have successfully challenged the decision. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the proprietors were no