Case Reports

A Scots lawyer whose firm overcharged clients and took fees to which it was not entitled has been struck off the solicitors’ roll. Alison Greer, 51, a cashroom partner in the firm, was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) over a course of

Prosecutors successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to refuse a vulnerable witness application made on behalf of a complainer in an assault case who said he was “terrified” of seeing the two woman accused of attacking him. The application was opposed because it was lodged too late, but th

An e-cigarette company whose trade mark was declared “invalid” because it was similar to that of a rival brand with a previously registered trade mark has had an appeal against the decision dismissed by a judge in the Court of Session. The case of CCHG Limited t/a Vapourized v Vapouriz Limited i

Two businessman found guilty of extortion following a violent assault and abduction who claimed that the trial judge’s speech to the jury had been “unbalanced” in favour of the prosecution have had their appeals against conviction dismissed. Refusing the appeal, the Appeal Court of the High Co

A woman who challenged a ban imposed by three Belgian municipalities on wearing clothing concealing the face in public suffered no discrimination, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Dakir v Belgium the European Court of Human Rights held, unani

A prisoner has been granted permission to pursue a legal action against prison authorities for opening letters addressed to him. The so-called “Limbs in the Loch” murderer William Beggs is seeking £5,000 damages from the Scottish Ministers over the “unlawful” opening of his personal corresp

A Scottish man accused of committing first-degree murder in Florida has had his complaints to Strasbourg that his Convention rights would be violated if he were extradited declared inadmissible. The case Harkins v the United Kingdom concerned the extradition of a British national to the US to face t

A Syrian man who had been granted refugee status in Bulgaria but claimed that to send him back there from the UK would breach his human rights has had his legal challenged dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session upheld a decision by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to certify the cl

A sheriff has ruled that a family home that was built on a plot of land owned by one party to a marriage but which was not matrimonial property could be valued separately from the land for the purposes of calculating financial provision on divorce. The pursuer claimed that when the house was built o

Rangers has failed in its appeal to the Supreme Court against a decision of the Inner House of the Court of Session over the use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) in a case clarifying the question whether an employee’s remuneration is taxable as their emoluments or earnings when it is paid to a th

A QC who sued the Scottish Government after resigning as chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has had a £500,000 claim for damages dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session dismissed a claim by Susan O’Brien QC that a decision by the Scottish Ministers to instigate the process for terminati

A Chinese woman who claimed she would be persecuted if returned to her home country having had two children out of wedlock has successfully challenged a decision to refuse her application for asylum. The Upper Tribunal had upheld a decision of the First-tier Tribunal to dismiss the woman’s appeal,

A man who was disqualified from driving for life following the latest in a series of motoring offences has failed in an appeal against the sentence imposed. The Sheriff Appeal Court dismissed Robert Laidlaw’s claim that the ban was “excessive” after noting that the appellant had an “appallin

A paedophile convicted of two charges of rape who was given an Order for Lifelong Restriction has failed in an appeal against his sentence after appeal judges rejected his claim that the punishment imposed was “excessive and disproportionate”. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary ref

A man found guilty of sexually assaulting his wife “to her severe injury and to the danger of her life” has successfully appealed against his conviction based on the existence and significance of evidence which was not heard at the original proceedings. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Just