Sheriff rules hearing is in public interest
BY SALLY HIND s.hind@dailyrecord.co.uk A WOMAN who claims she was raped by an abusive ex-partner is suing him for damages in a landmark legal case.
It will be heard in the Court of Session after a sheriff ruled that it raised “novel questions of law”, which should be decided by a senior judge.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that the former couple, who have not been named to protect the identity of the alleged victim, started a relationship in 1999 and abuse began in 2006.
Full details of the allegations are not disclosed in the judgment.
But the sheriff said the circumstances are “not dissimilar” to recent cases involving Stephen Coxen, who was sued for £80,000 for raping a St Andrews University student, and footballer David Goodwillie, who was ordered to pay £100,000 to a woman he was found to have raped after a drunken night out.
The Perth case is thought to be the first in which damages have been sought for personal injury as a result of an alleged rape and for a “course of conduct” of domestic abuse by an ex-partner.
The allegation of rape is denied by the defender, who was convicted in 2015 and 2017 for offences relating to the claim.
His lawyers said the issues raised were of public interest and there was a lack of case law relevant to it.
They said there were no reported decisions on cases in which damages were sought for a course of abusive behaviour.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis remitted the case to the Court of Session, saying the issues raised were matters of “public interest and concern”.