Christian
Marney
Year Of Call: 1998 Telephone: 07739 639165 Email: marney@ampersandstable.comPractice profile
Christian Marney’s interest and considerable experience is in professional
negligence and commercial litigation; employment and personal injury reparation. He is regularly instructed in professional negligence matters in particular, though not exclusively, by the Law Society of Scotland professional indemnity insurers. He is currently pursuing and defending actions in the Court of Session and Sheriff Court on behalf of solicitors and construction and housing professionals. He has a well established track record in personal injury having acted for most of the major insurers for most of his professional career. However, he also ensures that he continues to pursue cases on behalf of individuals and succeed in securing full compensation on behalf of those injured persons. He has a longstanding interest and involvement in employment matters, both advisory and litigated. He is one of a small number of junior counsel recognised in this area at the Scottish Bar. He has advised and represented UK plc’s, Local Government and major insurance
companies in all of those areas.
Education
1996: European Law studied at Glasgow University
1995: Roman Law studied at distance with University of Aberdeen 1987: Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Strathclyde
1986: LLB (Hons), University of Strathclyde. Honours subjects studied:
Employment Law; Private International Law; Criminal Law; Social and Welfare Law. Honours dissertation on the law relating to Trade Unions.
LLB (Hons) (1986) Dip. LP. (1987) Advocate (1998)
Courts & Tribunal experience
Christian Marney has practiced before most Courts and Tribunals in Scotland. He has conducted appeals in the Inner House of the Court of Session with and without a senior. He regularly appears in the Outer House of the Court of Session; the Sheriff Court; the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. He appears in the Land Tribunal and before other statutory bodies and tribunals.
Appointments
November 2009 - February 2011: Counsel for interested party in the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths of 14 residents of the Rosepark Care Home. 2005 - 2010: Aerved as ad hoc legal assessor in Nursing and Midwifery Council Disciplinary Proceedings
1998: called at the Scottish Bar (after devilling to Laurence Murphy QC; Marion Caldwell QC and Sheriff Norman Ritchie QC)
1991 - 1997: Messrs Biggart Baillie, Solicitors, Glasgow. Practicing in
professional negligence; contract and commercial disputes; employment and related; general reparation; Appointed Associate 1995. Instructing solicitor in Sharp v Thomson 1997 SC (HL) 66
1989 - 1991: Central Regional Council, Stirling. Solicitor providing full range of legal services to Education and Social Work Departments including court and tribunal representation - Sheriff Court; Employment Tribunal; Land Tribunal. In house legal advice re personnel issues; advising on internal disciplinary issues and hearings. Advice on adoption; freeing for adoption; parental rights. Conveyancing - both domestic and commercial, including leasing.
1987 - 1989: Trainee solicitor with Messrs Bishop and Robertson Chalmers, Solicitors, Glasgow. Domestic and Commercial Conveyancing; Civil litigation -reparation and commercial.
Lectures
Christian is an established and experienced instructor within the Faculty of
Advocates training courses for devils. He has taught classes to devils on subjects including written pleadings, oral advocacy and professional ethics since 2006. He has delivered seminars to solicitors on aspects of personal injury and in
employment law, most recently at the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow,
“Common Law Liability – the Modern Application of the Duty of Care" [11th
October 2013]. He contributes to training offered by the Faculty of Advocates to the University of Strathclyde pro bono unit.
Administrative and Public Law
Administrative Law (including judicial review)
Acted on behalf of Glasgow City Council, with Gerry Moynihan QC, in an action brought by the teachers union, the EIS, challenging the Council’s approach to the staffing of nursery schools and in particular the appointment of non-teachers to management posts. The litigation raised by way of petition for judicial review raised issues of employments rights; consultation and interpretation of legilation relating to the provision of nursery education in Scotland.
Commercial Law
Company Law
G v Wat son [2013] SLT 934
Company Law – allegations of bribery; disciplinary action taken against Managing Director; relationship between contract and Articles of Association; relationship between group companies; construction of contracts; remedies – interim interdict and suspension under petition procedure; availability of judicial review in an employment dispute. With Herriot Currie QC.
Commercial Law
Campbell Const ruct ion Group Lt d v Scot t ish Wat er 11t h March 2015
Successful recovery of substantial damages from Scottish Water arising from flood damage to construction works. The court had to consider the application of
contractual indemnities; assignation; the proper construction of Section 10 of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980; arguments of double recovery and the doctrine res inter alios acta.
Credent ial Jersey Lt d v DLA Piper Scot land LLP [2012] CSOH 96
Solicitors duties to client; misrepresentation; distinction between company
holding and unit trust; loss of sale of property portfolio through sale of unit trust; reflective loss. With G. Hanretty QC.
Scot land Gas Net works Plc v Scot t ish Wat er 2012 G.W.D. 11-220
Acted for defeders in a claim for damage to the gas main said to have been caused by water discharging from water main. The court had to consider section 141 of the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991; expert evidence on causation; proximity of utilities; the existence, nature and scope of any co-existant common law duty.
Bankruptcy And Insolvency Law
Reparation Law (including Professional Liability)
Professional Liability
Solicitors duties to client; misrepresentation; distinction between company
holding and unit trust; loss of sale of property portfolio through sale of unit trust; reflective loss. With G. Hanretty QC.
Personal Injury Law
St eel v McGill's Bus Service Lt d 2015 Rep. L.R. 39
Acting for the defenders in a claim for personal injury by elderly lady who
maintained that she was patently infirm and that the defenders' bus had moved away before she had the opportunity to sit down. She fell and sustained injuries. The competing account given by the driver was not accepted by the court. In
addition, the court distinguished the provision of a coach service with that of a city bus service. The latter may not give rise to an obligation on the driver to ensure that passengers were seated. The former might do - all the more so where that was said to be the defenders' policy.
Jean Shepherd v T ravelodge Hot els Lt d [2015] Rep L.R. 2
Successful defence of action for damages arising from oil spill at a Travelodge car park and subsequent slip by motorcyclist having left the car park and arrived at his destination. The court considered the application of the Occupiers Liabilty
(Scotland) Act 1960.
Hugh Pat erson v Servisair Court of Session 6t h Oct ober 2014
Success after a four day proof in the Court of Session in securing damages for
airport baggage handler who suffered back injury moving loaded bin full of luggage. The case turned on the existence, or otherwise, of unsafe working practices and whether or not these were condoned by the employer.
Isabella Lepick v St . Columbas School Lt d Court of Session 24t h April 2014
Successful defence of personal injury claim after 3 day proof in the Court of Session. In this case the court had to consider whether material had separated from an external wall and caused a slipping hazard at the top of an external flight of stairs. The court also had to consider evidential status of CCTV footage.
Hannah v Ferguslie Park Sport s Recreat ion & Leisure T rust 4t h February 2013
[Sheriff Principal B. Kerr – Paisley Sheriff Court] - casual football spectator was injured by a falling piece of vandalised fence; previous incidents of vandalism; injury not foreseeable; no liability.
Clark v Cit y of Edinburgh Council 2011 Rep. L.R. 11
Succesful defence of claim for credit hire charges for replacement vehicle following minor road accident. Examination of issues of failure to mitigate loss; the nature of impecuniosity; reasonable costs for replacement vehicle.
Medical/Clinical Negligence Law Health And Safety Law
Planning and environmental law
Planning And Environmental Law
Other Specialisms
Property Law And Conveyancing Employment And Discrimination Law
EIS v Glasgow Cit y Council [2014] SC 457
Acted on behalf of Glasgow City Council, with Gerry Moynihan QC, in an action brought by the teachers union, the EIS, challenging the Council’s approach to the staffing of nursery schools and in particular the appointment of non-teachers to management posts. The litigation raised by way of petition for judicial review raised issues of employments rights; consultation and interpretation of legilation relating to the provision of nursery education in Scotland.
Webst er v Cot t Beverages 31 August 2013 Glasgow Employment T ribunal.
Successfully resisted a claim by a company director whose company was purchased out of administration for unlawful deduction of earnings amounting to £225,000 amassed over 5 years.
Exchange Communicat ions Lt d v Masheder 2009 S.L.T . 1141
Breach of contract; Contracts of employment; Damages; Databases; Pleadings; Relevance; Restrictive covenants.
Public inquiries & Fatal Accident Inquiries
