The Scottish legislation which retrospectively abolished limitation in personal injury claims arising from childhood abuse expressly retained defences where a fair trial would be “impossible” and where the retrospective effect of the abolition of limitation gives rise to “substantial prejudice” to the defender sufficient to outweigh the interests of the pursuer in the case proceeding.
In a previous blog (link here), we commented on the sheriff’s decision in LM v The Executor of DG. This was the first reported judgment on the fair hearing defence. After hearing legal argument, but no evidence, the sheriff refused to dismiss the case on the basis of the fair hearing defence but neither upheld nor rejected the defence, deciding instead that evidence would need to be heard first. So, the sheriff fixed a proof (evidential trial) on all issues.
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