Education & Professional Career to Date

Appointments

• External Examiner, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen
• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
• Member of the Faculty of Advocates Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS)
• Member of the Scottish Planning, Local Government and Environmental Bar Group (SPLGEBG)
• Deputy to Co-Lead Counsel, Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry

Selected Cases

• Chalmers v Diageo Scotland Ltd [2024] CSIH 2; 2024 G.W.D. 4-28

  Reclaiming motion regarding the relevancy of a nuisance claim and specification of intolerability.

• Chalmers v Diageo Scotland Ltd [2023] CSOH 43; 2023 S.L.T. 1106; 2023 G.W.D. 26-222

  Procedure roll hearing in an action by homeowners against a distiller in respect of alleged nuisance caused by release of ethanol vapour.

• Dickie & Moore Ltd v Trustees of the Lauren McLeish Discretionary Trust [2020] CSIH 38; 2021 S.C. 1; 2020 S.L.T. 1007; 2020 G.W.D. 23-306; [2020] C.L.Y. 2110

  Responding to a reclaiming motion against severance of an adjudicator’s award; authoritative guidance upon the correct approach to severing ultra-vires parts of adjudication awards.

• Ian Graham Rennie v Mark Douglas St Clair Rennie [2020] CSOH 49; 2020 S.L.T. 619; 2020 G.W.D. 18-260

  Partnership dispute regarding procedure to be adopted in the expulsion of a partner and the applicability of natural justice in partnership decision making.

• Alexander Meikle McCabe & Ors v Rhoderick & Anr [2020] SC GLA 14; 2020 G.W.D. 11-155

  Action for interdict relating to encroachment upon ground utilised by a neighbour for over 80 years; debating relevancy of inter alia averments regarding servitude parking rights, locked gates and boundaries.

• Dickie & Moore Ltd v Trustees of the Lauren McLeish Discretionary Trust (No.2) [2019] CSOH 87; 2019 S.L.T. 1498; 187 Con. L.R. 202; 2019 G.W.D. 37-598

  First instance in Scotland of partial enforcement of a single dispute adjudication decision following severance of non-crystallised claims.

• GCN (Scotland) Limited v James Stevenson Gillespie [2019] CSOH 82; 2020 S.L.T. 185; 2020 S.C.L.R. 335; 2019 G.W.D. 35-554

  Establishing novel title to sue to retain possession of property without registered title in light of altered statutory landscape of a non domino title registration under the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012.
  

• Dickie & Moore Limited v Ronald James Mcleish, Mrs Diane Mcleish and Catriona Watt [2019] CSOH 71; 2019 S.L.T. 1487; 187 Con. L.R. 184; 2019 G.W.D. 30-476

  Action for the enforcement of an adjudication award in circumstances of allegations of breaches of natural justice and absence of jurisdiction.

• Our Generation Ltd v Aberdeen City Council [2019] CSIH 42; 2019 S.L.T. 1164; 2019 G.W.D. 23-348

  Reclaiming motion regarding sufficiency of the terms of purported notices of termination.

• Our Generation Ltd v Aberdeen City Council [2019] CSOH 16; 2019 S.L.T. 243; 2019 G.W.D. 7-87

  Hearing to determine whether leave to appeal is required in a Commercial Action in terms of rule 38.3(6) of the Court of Session Rules following dismissal of a principal action where a counterclaim remains extant.

• Our Generation Ltd v Aberdeen City Council [2018] CSOH 124

  Contractual dispute regarding the formal requirements and sufficiency of the terms of purported notices of termination of contracts for the provision and maintenance of photovoltaic systems.

• Panel on Takeovers and Mergers v David King [2018] CSOH 105; 2018 S.L.T. 1205; 2018 G.W.D. 36-443

  Enforcement by minute for contempt of the first order made under section 955 of the Companies Act 2006 brought by the Takeover Panel in respect of contravention of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

• Khan v Saddique [2018] CSOH 41; 2018 G.W.D. 16-212

  Action for the recovery of a property conveyed allegedly fraudulently by sitting tenant.

• Greenbelt Group Limited v [Residents of Menstrie Mains], Alloa Sheriff Court, 2 February 2018 (unreported)

  Action for payment of service charges on the basis of the subsisting privative contractual effect of an accepted disposition following removal of equivalent title conditions by the Lands Tribunal.

• David E Mond (Trustee) v John Duncan Daniel Codona, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, 29 December 2017 (unreported)

  Proof of jurisdiction for the purposes of sequestration in respect of residence within the sheriffdom for 2 months with requisite settled purpose.

• AWG Business Centres Ltd v Regus Caledonia Ltd [2017] CSIH 22; [2017] 2 WLUK 90; 2017 G.W.D. 9-131

  Construction of contractual terms within a Full Insuring and Repairing lease and the effect of that contractual nexus upon the proper construction of landlord’s services and the costs arising therefrom.

• Taylor v Prestige Properties, Hamilton Sheriff Court, 26 May 2017 (unreported)

  Action for removal of encroaching building. Questions regarding the defence of acquiescence arising from knowledge of the original construction the extent of the court’s discretion to refuse the strict property remedy of removal.

• Johnson, Thomas and Thomas (A Firm) v Smith [2016] SC GLA 50; 2016 G.W.D. 25-456

  Novel action for declarator of a stand-alone servitude right of parking, created not by any form of grant but solely use as of right for prescriptive period.

• AWG Business Centres Ltd v Regus Caledonia Ltd [2016] CSOH 99; 2016 G.W.D. 22-407

  Construction of contractual terms within a Full Insuring and Repairing lease.

• Miller v Pollock [2016] CSOH 30; 2016 G.W.D. 7-150

  Succession action for declarator of the value of a deceased’s estate and enforcement of the payment of legal rights.

• McManus v City Link Development Co Ltd [2015] CSOH 178; [2016] Env. L.R. D1; 2016 G.W.D. 6-126

  Action for damages arising from allegations of ground contamination on residential development. Questions of the entitlement of a developer to rely upon their consulting engineers and the proper definition of depositing of waste for the purposes of section 33(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

• West Register (Property Investments) Ltd v Scottish Ministers, Selkirk, 11 March 2015 (unreported)

  Appeal under Section 61(1) of the Land Reform Scotland Act 2003 against registration of a Community Interest in Land.

• Pilkington Trust, Petitioner [2013] CSOH 148; 2013 G.W.D. 30-598

  Petition for Judicial Review and reduction of awards of expenses made within planning appeals processes.

• Trustees of the late Mrs Hilda Pilkington v Scottish Ministers [2013] CSOH 147; 2013 G.W.D. 30-609

  Appeal under Section 239 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997; challenge to the decision is based on grounds of irrationality and the significance to be attached to an emerging local development plan ("LDP") as a material consideration in the context of planning decisions.

• G&G Contracts (Fife) Limited v Hewson, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, 8 August 2013 (unreported)

  Action for payment for additions and variations under a construction contract.