Latest Cases

Patent – Infringement. The Patents Court considered a patent relating to the use of anti-PD-1 antibodies in the treatment of cancer. The court rejected a number of objections to the validity of the patent, including lack of novelty, obviousness and entitlement to the first priority date. 

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. 

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. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division held that it was in the patient's best interest that treatment no longer be continued. It was the unanimous view of the treating clinicians that F had been in a vegetative state for eight years, and to undertake any further surgical processes would be invasive and from which she would not derive any benefit. 

Damages – Personal injury. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the defendants' appeal, held that the judge had erred in concluding that the cost of all of the claimant's care and physiotherapy needs should be met by the defendants as their negligence had made the claimant's position materially and significantly worse. The same applied to his decision in relation to accommodation, equipment, transport and holidays. The case was remitted to the judge for him to assess damages in respect of the claimant's heads of loss in the light of the court's judgment. 

Company – Winding up. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the appellant property developer's appeal against the dismissal of its application for an injunction to restrain the respondent building contractor from presenting a winding-up petition against it. Given that the respondent had, in fact, gone into voluntary liquidation after the hearing, the discretion would be re-exercised by granting a permanent injunction restraining presentation of a petition against the appellant based on interim certificates. 

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. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the action brought by AC-Treuhand AG against the judgment of the General Court of the European Union in Case T‑27/10 (EU:T:2014:59), by which that court had dismissed its action for annulment of Commission Decision C(2009) 8682 final of 11 November 2009 relating to a proceeding under art 81 EC and art 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (COMP/38589 — Heat Stabilisers) or, in the alternative, a reduction of the fines imposed on it by that decision. 

European Union – Employment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that the Decision on the BFA Group restructuring and arts 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which formed the basis for that decision, did not preclude the application, in proceedings relating to a collective redundancy that fell within the scope of that decision, of national legislation under which the compensation payable to an employee whose dismissal was held to be unfair was set at an amount higher than the legal minimum. 

European Union – Value added tax. The Court of justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding, among other things, that art 2(1)(c) of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 had to be interpreted as meaning that transactions which consisted of the exchange of traditional currency for units of the 'bitcoin' virtual currency and vice versa, in return for payment of a sum equal to the difference between, on the one hand, the price paid by the operator to purchase the currency and, on the other hand, the price at which he sold that currency to his clients, constituted the supply of services for consideration within the meaning of that article.