Latest Cases

Lending and security – Standard security – Enforcement. Sheriff Court: In an action in which the pursuer sought the court's authority to enter into possession to sell residential property, and a warrant for ejection, the defender having granted a standard security over the property in security of its obligation to repay a loan to the pursuer, which it had failed to repay and the pursuer having called up the loan, the court held that the protective regime introduced by the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act 2010 was not engaged, and in any event the pursuer had complied with the pre-action requirements, that while the remedy of ejection could competently be granted against a legal (juridical) person the crave was not justified on the evidence led, but it would not be unreasonable to grant decree of possession. 

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant sought judicial review of the defendant local planning authority's grant of planning permission, authorising change of use from a public house to alternative uses. The Planning Court, in allowing the application, held that the authority had erred and that it was not possible to say that it was highly likely that the outcome for the claimant would not have been substantially different if the conduct complained of had not occurred. 

European Union – Community institutions. The Court of Justice of the European Union, in dismissing Spain's application for annulment of art 19 of Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) 1052/2013, rejected Spain's single plea of law alleging breach of art 4 in conjunction with art 5 of Protocol (No 19) on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union. The Court ruled that art 19 of the Regulation could not be regarded as having given the member states the option of concluding agreements which allowed Ireland or the United Kingdom to take part in the provisions in force of the Schengen acquis in the area of the crossing of the external borders. 

Immigration – Asylum seeker – Fresh claim – Linguistic analysis report. Court of Session: Granting decree of reduction of a decision refusing to treat a failed Somali asylum seeker's further submissions as a fresh claim, the court held that the failure to provide a copy of the recording of a telephone interview between the petitioner and an employee of Sprakab on which a linguistic analysis report was based and the respondent's reliance on opinions expressed in the report on the petitioner's knowledge of country and culture which were not supported by any demonstrated expertise on the author's part were errors of law and those errors amounted to material unfairness. 

Discrimination – Health Board – Public sector equality duty. Court of Session: Refusing a judicial review petition in which the petitioner sought reduction of a decision of Lothian Health Board to withdraw the provision of homeopathic services on the ground that it was unlawful because the Board had given no consideration to its public sector equality duty when it reached the decision, the court held that the Board had a proper and conscientious focus on the statutory criteria and it had obtained sufficient information to discharge its duty of inquiry under s 149 of the Equality Act 2010. 

Coroner – Inquest. The claimant consultant cardiothoracic surgeon issued proceedings, contending that a sentence should be removed from the defendant coroner's narrative conclusions as to his three patients. The Divisional Court, in dismissing the application, held that on the evidence before her, the coroner had been entitled to have come to the conclusion that she had and it could not be described as irrational. 

Costs – Order for costs. The Chancery Division ruled that the fact that the claimant local authority had unsuccessfully advanced legal argument based on certain material did not mean that it should be deprived of some part of the costs where that material had, nonetheless, been relevant to the issue on which it had won its claim. The general rule that costs should follow the event applied and the claimant was entitled to its costs. 

European Union – Regulations. The appellants appealed against a decision of the General Court, which confirmed various restrictions on the commercial exploitation of products obtained from seals. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal in its entirety, holding that it was partly inadmissible and partly unfounded. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division made findings of fact in the course of care proceedings relating to two children. It held that the threshold criteria in s 31(2) of the Children Act 1989 had been satisfied in respect of both children on the basis of serious and serial sexual abuse having occurred. 

Practice – Summary judgment. The Commercial Court ruled on, amongst other things, the claimant's applications for summary judgment in respect of money it claimed was due pursuant to two separate written loan agreements.