Latest Cases

Town and country planning – Planning permission – Local development plan. Court of Session: Refusing a petition seeking reduction of a local authority's decision to grant planning permission for the erection of 30 beach huts, the court held that the respondent did not err in law either by misinterpreting a policy of the local development plan, or by failing to have regard to a material consideration in the form of a policy of the emerging local development plan. 

Insolvency – Receivership – Ranking preference as between floating charge holder and inhibiting creditor. Court of Session: In a case in which the court revisited the issue of ranking preference as between a floating charge holder and an inhibiting creditor, and considered afresh the meaning of the phrase 'effectually executed diligence' it held that the pursuer's first plea in law must be repelled regardless of whether an inhibition registered in the pursuer's favour fell properly to be categorised as an effectually executed diligence on the two houses owned by the defender, but that the pursuer's alternative argument succeeded—ie that even if the inhibition was not an effectually executed diligence, it nevertheless ranked ahead of a bank's floating charge with regard to debt incurred after the inhibition. 

Electricity transmission – Wayleaves – Temporary continuation of wayleaves. Court of Session: Dismissing an action in which the pursuer sought damages for encroachment by reason of the presence of the defender's equipment on a site between 27 September 1997, when the pursuer entered into possession of the site, and 13 August 2014, when the Scottish Ministers granted a necessary wayleave in the defender's favour, the court held that when effect was given to what it considered to be the proper construction of para 8 of Sch 4 to the Electricity Act 1989, the pursuer's claim, relying as it did on the proposition that on a pre-existing wayleave ceasing to be binding on a change of ownership the presence of an electric line on land became an encroachment and as such actionable in damages, was irrelevant. 

Immigration – Leave to remain. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant Indian nationals' application for judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's refusal of the first claimant's application for further leave to remain. The decision had not been a nullity, as an abuse of power and the claimants had not been unlawfully detained. 

Company – Scheme of arrangement. The Chancery Division adjourned a hearing to convene a single class of creditors to consider a scheme of arrangement in respect of the applicant company, Indah Kiat International Finance Company B.V. Among other things, it considered that 14 days was inadequate notice for a convening hearing for a scheme of the present type, which was neither simple nor straightforward. Even if the notice to the creditors had been adequate, an order convening a single meeting of scheme creditors would not have been made because the evidence adduced by the company as to the appropriate composition of the scheme meetings and draft explanatory statement were materially deficient in their current form. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division in a claim for libel by the claimant against the defendant newspaper, considered the 'repetition rule' and made a preliminary ruling on the issue of the meaning of the words in an article published in the paper and online version of the newspaper. 

Criminal law – Indecency with child. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that a sentence of 24 months' imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, for three specimen counts of indecency with a child, contrary to s 1(1) of the Indecency with Children Act 1960, had been unduly lenient. A judge had to arrive at the right sentence on the offences before her and to guard against any temptation, because of what had happened in the intervening period, to suspend the sentence. The sentence would be quashed and substituted for a total term of three years and six months' imprisonment. 

Immigration – Appeal. The Administrative Court dismissed the Immigration Law Practitioners Association's application for judicial review. It held that r 13 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Rules 2014, SI 2014/2604, permitting direction prohibiting disclosure to person in specified circumstances, did not give rise to a systemic or inherent lack of fairness. 

Criminal law – Wounding with intent. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held, that following a Goodyear indication, a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment for wounding with intent, contrary to s 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, had been unduly lenient. The offender's mitigation had not been sufficient to have justified a departure from the Sentencing Council's Definitive Guidelines: Assault. Consequently, the sentence would be quashed and substituted for a term of five years' imprisonment. 

Judgment – Default of defence. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal against a refusal to set aside default judgment. One of the conditions in CPR 12.3(1) had not been met, as no time for responding to service of the claim form had been given, and, therefore, the relevant time for doing so had not expired. Further, it could not be said that the defendant did not have an arguable defence.