Latest Cases

Copyright – Ownership. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court dismissed the claimant company's claim for ownership of the copyrights of two logos. Although the claimant had taken the legal interest in the copyrights, it had done so subject to the equitable interest of the company which had made use of the logos, and for whose use the logos had been created. 

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. 

Family Proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Court made a placement order in respect of a young child, who was approaching seven months old. In the circumstances, it was clear that it was overwhelmingly in the child's interests for such an order to be made and nothing else would do. 

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. 

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. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 101, 107 and 119 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and art 158 of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 (on the common system of value added tax). The request had been made in the course of criminal proceedings brought against the defendants for alleged offences in relation to value added tax and the questions included whether a national rule on limitation periods for criminal offences, which in effect resulted in accused persons enjoying de facto impunity, amounted to introducing a VAT exemption which was not laid down in art 158 of Directive 2006/112. 

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. 

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. 

Sentencing – Careless driving – Failure to report accident. High Court of Justiciary: In an appeal against sentence by an appellant who pled guilty to charges of careless driving and failure to report an accident, the sheriff having found that the two offences were not committed on the same occasion and imposed six penalty points in respect of each charge, discounted in each case to four, the court held, it being accepted that it was incompetent for the sheriff to impose less than five points for the offence of failure to report, that the offences arose on the same occasion and that penalty points should only have been imposed in respect of the charge of failing to report, as that was the offence to which a higher number of penalty points could be attributed: it accordingly allowed the appeal to the extent of quashing the penalty points attributable to the careless driving charge and increasing those attributable to the charge of failing to report to five.