Latest Cases

Practice – Striking out. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the claimant's appeal against strike out of his particulars of claim on the ground of abuse of process, the grant of summary judgment in favour of the defendant bank and dismissal of his claim. On the facts and the procedural history, the defendant had discharged the burden imposed upon it of demonstrating that the present was a case which had clearly engaged the established principles of abuse of process. 

McDougall v HM Advocate 

Company – Sole shareholder and director – Personal liability for actions of company. Court of Session: In a case in which the pursuer advanced claims against a company (the fourth defender) and its sole director and shareholder (the third defender) in respect of alleged infringements of trademarks, following a debate on the question of whether the third defender was properly convened as a party to the action on the basis that he was personally liable for the actions of the fourth defender, the court held that the action in so far as directed against the third defender was irrelevant and should be dismissed. 

European Union – Value added tax. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding, among other things that, art 9(1) of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 had to be interpreted as meaning that an activity such as that at issue in the main proceedings, whereby a company provided a region with services in respect of the planning and management of the regional health service under the programme agreements concluded between that company and that region, constituted an economic activity within the meaning of that provision. 

Sentencing – Sexual Offences Act 2003 – Notification requirements. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who pled guilty to an offence of threatening or abusive behaviour involving obtaining clandestine access to an intimate photograph on the complainer's mobile showing her naked private parts and transmitting it electronically to a third party, the court held that the sheriff was entitled to find that there was a 'significant sexual aspect' to the offence, which meant that the appellant became subject to the notification requirements in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. 

Disclosure and inspection of documents – Confidential documents. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed appeals against case management and other orders in proceedings brought by 565 claimant companies against British Airways arising out of an alleged unlawful cartel. It held that the unredacted version of a European Commission decision should not be disclosed to members of a confidentiality ring and economic tort claims should be struck out, as the judge had erred in his approach to the issue of intent. 

Bankruptcy – Sequestration – Grant of standard security over and disposition of heritable property. Court of Session: In an action which concerned the proper construction of s 44(4)(c) of the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1924, in which the trustee on a debtor's sequestrated estate challenged a standard security the debtor purported to grant in favour of the defender over four heritable properties and dispositions of three other properties he owned in favour of defender, the court held that the standard security and dispositions which the pursuer challenged were voidable, and fell to be reduced. 

Carriage by air – Jurisdiction – Breach of contract – Denied boarding. Sheriff Court: In an action in which the pursuers averred that on the return trip from a holiday in Sicily they were denied boarding to their pre-booked return flight by the defender, their carrier, and had required to pay for alternative carrier to return them to UK, the court concluded that it was seized of jurisdiction, that the pursuers had failed to prove that it was the defender that caused the damage claimed by breach of contract, but that they were entitled to compensation and reimbursement in terms of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 for having been 'denied boarding' against their will by the defender. 

Bankruptcy – Sequestration – Disposition of heritable property. Court of Session: In an action which concerned the proper construction of s 44(4)(c) of the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1924, in which the trustee on a debtor's sequestrated estate challenged dispositions of five heritable properties by the debtor in favour of the defender, the court held that the dispositions the pursuer challenged were voidable and fell to be reduced (with the possible exception of the disposition of a property which might qualify as the debtor's family home). 

Heritable property – Forged disposition – Reduction. Court of Session: Allowing a reclaiming motion by a pursuer who challenged the Lord Ordinary's refusal to grant decree of reduction of a forged disposition, the court held that the Lord Ordinary erred in law by adopting the approach of an exercise of discretion: the deed was null and of no effect, and the pursuer was entitled to decree of reduction. In any event, the court would, had the issue arisen, have interfered with the exercise of the Lord Ordinary's discretion.