Case Reports

The Sheriff Appeal Court has upheld a sheriff’s decision that a servitude right of access to a single-track roadway granted to the owners of a house in Cupar did not include access to the passing places and verges along that road. The appellants, Ian and Ruth MacAllan, were granted a right of

A media company that published an article based on a confidential letter about the subject of a criminal investigation and refused to remove it has had its freedom of expression of appeal unanimously dismissed by justices in the Supreme Court. The court held that, in general, a person

A Lord Ordinary has resolved a £29 million claim by a cigarette paper company against the manufacturers of ink dispensing machines by finding them to be liable for only £3,000 worth of the damage. It was averred by Benkert UK Ltd that a fire that destroyed their premises in Alva, Clackma

A man who was convicted of being involved in a drug supply operation has had his conviction quashed on appeal to the High Court of Justiciary after the Crown indicated that it could no longer support the conviction. It was argued by the appellant, Patrick Hattie, that the trial judge had given insuf

The High Court of Justiciary has refused a Crown appeal against a sheriff’s decision that an indictment against a former teacher accused of lewd, indecent, and libidinous practices against pupils should be deserted. It was pled by the respondent, Paul Cooney, that the Lord Advocate, through th

A Lord Ordinary has allowed a proof to determine whether a completion certificate for the construction of an advertising totem outside Glasgow Airport was false in a dispute over an agreement to enter a sub-lease of the land the totem was built on. The action was originally raised by the head tenant

A Lord Ordinary has quashed a decision of a tribunal that a sheriff should not be removed from judicial office after he was found to have acted inappropriately towards a female lawyer. A petition challenging the decision that Sheriff John Brown was fit for office was made by the lawyer, X, who argue

The High Court of Justiciary has refused an appeal against the decision of the Sheriff Appeal Court to quash the acquittal verdict of a man who was tried for two sexual offences that took place in Scotland and Italy between 1992 and 2001. Stephen Motroni faced trial on a summary complaint libelling

The former employer of the driver involved in the 2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash has successfully defended an action by Glasgow City Council seeking to recover over £6 million it paid in settlements to claimants affected by the crash. It was averred by the pursuer that First Glasgow Ltd owed it

A 2021 Scottish government scheme providing for the funding of milk and healthy snacks for nursery-age children has been ruled unlawful after a petition for judicial review was brought against it. The School and Nursery Milk Alliance Ltd objected to the funding method of the scheme, asserting that i

A woman who hired a construction company to build a luxury dog hotel in Aberdeenshire has lost an appeal seeking to reduce a decree ordering her to pay over £40,000 to the company. Laura Tierney originally raised an action seeking repayment of money she claimed had been paid to the defender, G

The High Court of Justiciary has refused an extradition appeal by three American citizens wanted in the state of Virginia for the attempted kidnapping of five children and the attempted killing of their parents. Warrants for the arrest of the appellants, Jennifer Amnott, Valerie Hayes, and Gary Rebu

A personal injury sheriff has awarded £119,250 in damages to a woman after finding that she was raped by a man she met on a night out in Dundee and that he could not have reasonably believed she had consented to sex. The pursuer, AB, averred that she had not consented to sexual intercourse wit

A Lord Ordinary has dismissed actions raised by two siblings who were former residents of a defunct care home run by the Congregation of the Sisters of Nazareth in the 1970s after finding that a fair hearing was not possible. It was submitted by the defender that the actions raised by pursuers B and

A petition to the nobile officium of the High Court of Justiciary by a self-titled journalist and blogger who was found in contempt of court after publishing material relating to the trial of former First Minister Alex Salmond has been ruled competent to proceed to a full hearing. Craig Mu