Case Reports

An apprentice thermal insulation engineer who is suing his employer following an accident at work will have his case heard by a jury after a judge rejected the company’s claim that the £2 million damages action was too complex. A judge in the Court of Session was not persuaded that “special cau

Scottish courts have an “inherent power” to depart from the principle of open justice and make an order for anonymity to prohibit publication of and to protect the identity of alleged victims of extortion, appeal judges have confirmed. The judges ruled that the complainer’s “right to privacy

A “prominent figure” in the pipe band world who was found guilty of “sexting” a drumming student has had an appeal against his conviction refused. John Moneagle, 59, was convicted of “behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm”

A man convicted of murder and embezzlement has been made the subject of a confiscation order after a High Court judge ruled that he had made almost £120,000 as a result of his “criminal lifestyle”. Colin Coates, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a punishment part of 33 years after bei

A decision may not be adopted to expel a third-country national who is a long-term resident for the sole reason that he or she has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than one year, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. A Colombian national, who was granted a long-term r

A labourer who sued his former employers after developing post traumatic stress disorder following a fire at a power station from which he had to be rescued has had an appeal in his action for damages dismissed. The Inner House of the Court of Session upheld the decision of the Lord Ordinary to refu

A motorist who was found guilty of driving while using a mobile phone after he was seen by two police officers has had an appeal against his conviction rejected. The appellant claimed that the evidence of two police witnesses was “insufficient” to prove that an offence had been committed, but th

A scaffolder who was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to having a kitchen knife in his car which was found following a police search has successfully appealed against his sentence. A sheriff had rejected the accused’s plea in mitigation that the knife was used as “wor

A supplier of luxury goods can prohibit its authorised distributors from selling those goods on a third-party internet platform such as Amazon and this does not, in principle, go beyond what is necessary to preserve the luxury image of the goods. Coty Germany sells luxury cosmetic goods in Germany.

A FTSE 100 company which is seeking to enforce a contractual restriction preventing a former employee setting up a rival partnership business has had a motion for interim interdict refused. A judge in the Court of Session said she was not persuaded to exercise her discretion by granting the interim

A tenant who challenged a sheriff’s decision that he was liable to pay his former landlord two months’ unpaid rent has had his appeal dismissed. The Sheriff Appeal Court upheld the sheriff’s ruling that the landlord’s breach of certain statutory obligations did not render the lease agreement

A man who was sentenced to the minimum term of five years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to possession of a stun gun has failed in an appeal against what he argued was an “arbitrary and disproportionate” sentence. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary upheld the decision of the

The Sheriff Appeal Court has overturned a sheriff’s decision to refuse sanction for counsel in a summary cause action arising from a road traffic accident. The court held that the sheriff erred by failing to give sufficient weight to the “importance” of the case to the pursuer.

A father whose legal action for contact with his child was dismissed after he failed to lodge a joint minute in advance of a case management hearing has successfully challenged the sheriff’s decision. The Sheriff Appeal Court allowed the appeal after ruling that the sheriff failed to have the welf

Two professional footballers who were found to have raped a woman after a judge ruled she was “incapable of consenting” due to the effects of alcohol have had an appeal against the decision dismissed. David Goodwillie and David Robertson were ordered to pay damages of £100,000 to Denise Clair a