Civil Disputes

Thorley Stephenson can assist in pursuing civil disputes of all types, from simple breach of a contract disputes, to disputes over copyright, to medical negligence right through to property disputes e.g. planning disputes and disputes over the boundaries of the land around your house.

Depending on the value of the claim, civil claims are raised in either the local Sheriff Court or Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland’s highest Civil Court. Claims below £3000 are ‘small claims’ and are dealt with in the Sheriff court. Claims over £3000 are dealt with in the Sheriff court, and complex or high-value claims are dealt with in the Court of Session. Instructing a Thorley Stephenson solicitor ensures the best chance of success in your claim, thanks to our knowledge and expertise in pursuing Civil Disputes.

Civil Litigation Solicitors Edinburgh, Scotland

Accordingly, at Thorley Stephenson SSC, we believe it is important to give the best advice to clients at a very early stage in such situations.

By acting promptly and providing advice tailored to individual needs, clients have the ability to make informed decisions at a very early, and often crucial, time of any potential dispute.

This may avoid expensive and damaging litigation for clients or, at the least, focus on the issues in dispute, thereby potentially saving costs at an early stage.

We have particular experience in the following areas of civil disputes:

High value contractual disputes

All of us are party to contracts every day. Every time you buy something in a shop you are entering into a contract of sale. Businesses routinely enter into contracts with each other. When things start to go wrong under a contract, for instance because one party fails to meet their obligations, it can be distressing and can have severe financial consequences.

Common sources of contract disputes include:

• One party failing to deliver or perform their half of the bargain on time;
• The item or service in question being of unsatisfactory quality
• The recipient of the failing to pay for the goods or services.

Many contracts provide for what is to happen in these situations and thus it is often a simple matter of enforcing what the contract says. It may be the case, however, that the contractual term is open to interpretation, or that the contract was an implied contract which was never written down. In those cases, where agreement cannot be reached, Court action may be necessary.
 
Thorley Stephenson can assist you in pursuing a claim based on a Contract. We can pursue an Action for Payment on your behalf or a “Specific Implement” action, where the other party is compelled to meet their obligations under the contract. If appropriate, we will assist you in suing the party who is in the wrong for damages.

Other common kinds of contractual dispute include disputes over an Employment Contract, Partnership Agreements, Franchise Agreements, Credit Agreements, Shareholder Agreements and Licensing Agreements.

Freezing orders

A Freezing Order is an Order from the Court which prevents someone from disposing or doing anything else with their assets. Its purpose is to prevent the recipient from moving, concealing or squandering the assets. A Freezing Order is usually sought before a Court action but can be taken at any stage, including during and after proceedings.

If involved in a dispute, you should consider a Freezing Order in the following situations: where someone has acted fraudulently or you think it is likely that they will be, where someone is experienced in handling assets, where someone is not based in the UK and also where there are signs that they are selling off assets or they are likely to.

Common methods of freezing somebody’s assets are by way of either an Arrestment Order or a more general “Interdict”, which is a Court Order which prevents somebody from doing something. Freezing Orders can comfortably sit alongside an Action for Payment or for damages. A Thorley Stephenson solicitor can advise you on the best course of action to take.

Intellectual property disputes

Disputes based on Intellectual Property rights are becoming more and more common, as people become increasingly aware of the importance of protecting their ownership of, and rights in, a particular product or idea. Common types of Intellectual Property disputes we deal with include Copyright, Design rights and the disputes in relation to the law of “passing off”, where someone misleads the public by using your good reputation to sell inferior goods.

Intellectual Property disputes often arise where someone infringes your Intellectual Property or someone accuses you of infringement. Thorley Stephenson can help you when this happens by first starting a conversation asserting your rights on your behalf with the infringing party, and if this is unsuccessful, representing you in various dispute resolution procedures. For example, we can represent you in the Intellectual Property Office’s dispute resolution procedure.

Finally, we can represent you in a Court Action based on your Intellectual Property rights. Legal advice is essential due to the complex nature of the law in this area.

High value negligence claims

A claim based on negligence is a claim on the grounds that somebody owed you a duty of care, they then breached this duty and this breach has resulted in harm, injury or loss to you. It can be highly distressing to be the victim of negligence and we can help you through this troubling period by seeking damages as compensation for your loss.

Common types of negligence claims include claims based on Professional Negligence and claims for Medical Negligence. On a daily basis we seek help from a variety of different professionals, ranging from Accountants, Solicitors and those in the Medical Profession. We place a lot of trust in professionals, and they owe us a duty of care which is higher than that owed to us by ordinary individuals. Professional negligence is often serious and can cost you significant amounts of money. If a professional has let you down, contact Thorley Stephenson today.

A claim based on Medical Negligence is a specific kind of Professional Negligence. This is where you have been the recipient of substandard clinical care and you are seeking financial compensation as a result. Common reasons may include an unreasonable delay in prognosis, incorrect treatment or most commonly, insufficient communication.

Building and property disputes

Buying a property is one of the biggest investments we make. As such, it can be particularly upsetting when things start to go wrong. The law provides various methods of settling this kind of dispute, however. Common kinds of dispute include: Property Transfer (or Conveyancing) disputes, Boundary and Neighbour disputes, Building Contract disputes, Rent disputes and Access Rights disputes.

Disputes over Property Transfers may arise as a result of another party failing to fulfil their obligations in the sale of land, for instance by failing to pay for a property on time or failing to hand over the keys on time.
Boundary and neighbour disputes are also common. These arise, for instance, when a neighbour asks you to take down some hedges or argues that part of your land belongs to them. It may be that you rent a property and you are engaged in a disagreement with your Tenant, such as failure to pay rent.

In all of the above cases we can help by seeking a Court Order such as an Action for Payment, a Specific Implement or an Interdict.

Contact our civil litigation solicitors in Edinburgh

Thorley Stephenson SSC’s solicitors aim to provide clients with the best possible advice for them.

Please contact us today on 01315569599 to speak to our solicitors based in Edinburgh, Scotland.