Case Reports

A homeowner who was ordered to reduce the height of rows of trees along a boundary wall within the grounds of his property after his neighbours complained that they were overshadowing their garden has lost a legal challenge against a decision. Brian Rizza was issued with a “High Hedge Not

A company which sells “souvenir” plots of land and claimed that buyers could style themselves as “Lord of Lady” of an estate has had a £750,000 defamation action against an MSP dismissed. Wildcat Haven Enterprises claimed that Andy Wightman damaged its re

A teacher who raised employment tribunal proceedings against her former local authority employer for disability discrimination after she suffered “psychiatric injury” but settled the compensation claim is now suing the council for damages over its “failure to take reasonable care f

A Scottish university which sued a distance-learning student for unpaid fees has had its claim dismissed due to “lack of jurisdiction”. Heriot-Watt University raised an action against Christian Schlamp, claiming that the parties had entered into a “contract for the provis

A man who developed a “life-long psychiatric injury” after being physically and sexually abused by monks while staying at a residential school nearly 40 years ago has been awarded more than £300,000 in damages. The All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court ruled that the

A gay paedophile couple serving life sentences after being found guilty of murder have failed in a legal challenge against a decision by prison authorities to ban them from telephoning each other. Partners Charles O’Neill and William Lauchlan claimed they should be treated as “near relat

A man who swallowed his false teeth has been awarded nearly £200,000 in damages after suffering “severe” injuries during a hospital procedure to remove the dental plate from his food pipe. Derek Hamilton, who swallowed his dental plate while playing with his grandson, sue

Land at Stornoway Airport is to be sold to a residential property developer after Highlands and Islands Airport (HIA) successfully challenged a Scottish Land Court ruling that the disputed areas remained subject to crofting tenure. The First Division of the Court of Session&

A housing association tenant whose application to assign the tenancy of the property to his daughter was rejected has successfully challenged the landlord’s decision. A sheriff ordered the housing association to consent to the application after ruling that the refusal was “not reasonable

A Scots lawyer who claimed that the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission acted “ultra vires” in unilaterally raising a complaint against him for has successfully challenged the decision. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the watchdog, which decided ex proprio motu to make a comp

Controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport have been thrown into doubt following a successful legal challenge by environmental campaigners. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales ruled that the UK Government’s proposed expansion of Europe’s busiest a

A complainer in a rape and domestic abuse assault case successfully challenged a court order authorising the accused to recover her medical records in a bid to disclose any “mental health problems”. The Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary ruled that the applicatio

An admin worker affected by epilepsy who was sacked from her job at the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) because she was unable to meet the standards of performance and attendance expected during her probationary period has been awarded more than £30,000 in compensatio

A Nigerian national who lodged a human right claim to remain in the UK with members of her extended family has successfully challenged a decision to refuse her application to appeal. The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) rejected the petitioner’s claim that she had developed

A Scots lawyer who acted on behalf of a woman who was seeking to buy her estranged husband’s share in their former matrimonial home so she could remain in the property with her children, while also acting for the woman’s new partner who had agreed to fund the purchase and let the propert