Case Reports

The family of a man who drowned after his vehicle collided with a “defective parapet” on a bridge and fell into the sea have successfully sued the local authority. Plumber David Bowes, 46, drowned after his pick-up truck collided with the parapet on the Kyle of Tongue Bridge in Sutherland and fe

A former member of the armed forces who claimed he was entitled to a larger discount on the purchase price of his council home than he was offered under “right to buy” legislation has had his appeal refused. The appellant claimed his previous occupation of army property entitled him to a higher

A Crown application to lead hearsay evidence of a now deceased victim of an alleged fraud has been granted following an appeal. A sheriff had refused the application made under section 259 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 on the basis that the statements would amount to the “sole or d

A man found guilty of behaving in a “threatening and abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm” after approaching a 14-year-old girl and asking to go with her to her home has failed in an appeal against his conviction. The Sheriff Appeal Court rejected the argume

A newsagent found guilty of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards young female employees aged between 13 and 16, who claimed that he been denied a fair trial because a sheriff’s comment to one of the witnesses that she had been “very brave” in giving her evidence showed a lack of imp

A man accused of historical child sex offences has had proceedings against him deserted after he successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to allow more time for prosecutors to bring the case to trial following inexplicable delays by the Crown in securing the evidence of a key witness. The High

A lecturer who was removed from his position as a board member of Glasgow Clyde College and consequently disqualified for life from being a member of other boards has failed in a legal challenge to the legislative order removing almost the entire board from office for “mismanagement”. A judge in

A rapist who was not given the option of legal advice when interviewed by the police and whose application for judicial review of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission’s decision not to refer his case for a second time to the High Court of Justiciary on the basis of, inter alia, Cadder v H

A group of Scottish tenant farmers who claimed they had suffered “loss, injury and damage” after being evicted from their farms due to “unlawful” legislation are entitled to limited compensation, a judge has ruled. The Court of Session held that the state should compensate the individuals fo

A former priest has been ordered to pay his brother-in-law more than £140,000 in damages from his late father’s estate following a family dispute over the lease of a fish and chip shop. John Gray was awarded damages for loss of profits in his action against Father Roderick MacNeil, after the Sher

A sheriff’s decision to discharge a man who was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant after ruling that the crime narrated was not an offence in Scots law has been overturned following an appeal. Miroslaw Lisek was convicted of stealing sewing machines after failing to return the items, which had

A punter who placed a £100 bet at odds of 2500/1 for “Rangers to be relegated” from the Scottish Premier League has had his £250,000 claim against the bookmakers rejected after the company refused to pay out. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the simple, natural and ordinary meaning o

A 40-year-old case on the effect of arrestment of a company’s property following the appointment of a receiver was “wrongly decided”, a five-judge bench has ruled. The Inner House of the Court of Session held that the court in the 1977 case Lord Advocate v Royal Bank of Scotland, which ruled t

A telephone subscriber’s consent to the publication of his data also covers its use in another member state, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled. The highly harmonised regulatory framework makes it possible to ensure throughout the EU the same respect for requirements relating to

The mother of a child who was placed in the care of a couple later approved as kinship carers has successfully challenged a decision to make an order for the adoption of her daughter. The Inner House of the Court of Session ruled that the decision of the sheriff to make the adoption order and dispen