Law

A commercial judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has allowed a proof in an £11.5 million action raised against two companies contracted to build and maintain a funicular railway in the Cairngorns after ruling that the claim had not expired by prescription.

Law firm Burness Paull has appointed real estate lawyer David Stewart as a partner, bringing the firm's total to 86 partners across its Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. Mr Stewart joins the firm from Morton Fraser and brings more than 20 years of experience, with a particularly strong backgr

Spring 2023 will be a significant time for developers as the UK and Scottish governments progress their separate cladding remediation programmes. Each government’s programme is at a different stage. Caroline Maciver (partner) and Lynda Ross (director) from the construction team at law firm Bu

With Scot­land and the rest of the UK con­tin­u­ally miss­ing house­build­ing tar­gets, Fraser Mitchell, part­ner in Shep­herd and Wed­der­burn's Prop­erty and In­fra­struc­ture team, asks: what are the road­blocks to build­ing?

The case of Muir Construction Limited v Kapital Residential Limited [2017] CSOH 132 served as a timely reminder of the importance for parties to a construction contract to understand the role of pay less notices. As economic uncertainty continues, maintaining cashflows and ensuring the correct amoun

Sandra Cassels discusses the recent changes to the law of prescription and their impact on latent defects in construction projects. The expiry of claims for damages in Scotland is regulated by the Prescription & Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Section 6 of the 1973 Act provides that claims

Jessica Tresham, James Ignotus and Michelle Essen from the construction team at Womble Bond Dickinson share why arbitration is such a popular way of resolving cross-border disputes. Most people in the construction and engineering industry are familiar with the term "international arbitration". They

A joiner who defrauded tens of thousands of pounds from unsuspecting customers by failing to complete work has narrowly avoided jail. Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Lawrence Kettles from Angus firm JWK Joinery scammed one man out of £27,500 over a bathroom which never appeared, while ano

Legal and tax advice firm Turcan Connell has secured two strategic hires for its land and property team with the addition of Murray Soutar and Lesley Roarty. Murray Soutar re-joins the firm as a partner having established a career as a specialist advisor in rural property. He first began his career

The director of a Perth construction firm has narrowly avoided jail after he evaded tax payments of £204,678.

Legal director Gregor Duthie highlights upcoming deadlines for commercial property owners in Scotland and across the UK. Transparency over the ownership and control of property has long been a point of contention – at times, it has even become a political football. In a bid to clear up some of

Politically and economically, 2022 was a tumultuous year. Despite an encouraging start, by the third quarter it was clear that Scotland’s property sector was being impacted by spiralling inflation, soaring energy costs and increasing interest rates, writes Barry McKeown. Yet, let me recall som

City Property (Glasgow) LLP has been fined for health and safety failings which left a man with severe injuries and permanent impairment. The firm, which manages and disposes of Glasgow City Council’s surplus properties, pled guilty to health and safety breaches at Glasgow Sheriff Court o

Employment lawyer Pauline Hughes outlines the implications of changes to flexible working laws. The Scottish Government has recently announced that they will soon be passing new legislation around flexible working, updating the current rules to, ironically, make the scheme more flexible for emp

Anderson Strathern’s employment law specialist Musab Hemsi has long argued that engaging someone through the Construction Industry Scheme doesn’t necessarily always mean they will be defined as self-employed – and this recent ruling (Richards v Waterfield Homes Limited) confirms hi