An Isle of Lewis famer has vowed to appeal after Scottish Water won a court battle over claims it poisoned a herd of cows.
Iain Scott of Stoneyfield Farm, near Stornoway, was awarded over £270,000 damages on December 30 last year after a hearing before Sheriff David Sutherland at Stornoway Sheriff Court.
Scottish Water appealed on grounds the sheriff “failed to address or analyse questions of law and had failed to explain the findings in fact on which he based his conclusion in law”
The appeal was heard by Sheriff Principal Nigel Ross and appeal sheriffs Thomas McCartney and Robert Fife. Both parties retained King’s Counsel.
Sheriff Principal Ross did not deal with the merits of the case so much as with shortcomings in Sheriff Sutherland’s ruling, which were described as “uninformative” and “unsatisfactory”.
When contacted by the Press & Journal, the Scott family said they intended to appeal the most recent ruling.
What was the case about?
The case had its origins in 2008-09 when Mr Scott found some of his herd of breeding cattle at Stoneyfield Farm dying and falling ill for unexplained reasons.
Acting on veterinary and scientific advice which ruled out other options, Mr Scott raised an action against Scottish Water, maintaining the cause lay in discharges of sewage into a field drain.
A nearby sewer manhole had been attended by Scottish Water in 2009 after it was seen discharging sewage onto surrounding land.
After 16 days of evidence heard between December 2015 and January 2019, the sheriff awarded damages of £272,711.28. He found that Mr Scott’s cattle drank water contaminated by pollution and Scottish Water had not warned him of the dangers posed by the contamination.
Why did the sheriff overturn the ruling?
Sheriff Principal Ross, delivering the opinion of the court, was critical of the sheriff’s approach to the case.
He wrote: “Crucial findings in fact are only incompletely supported by discussion in the remainder of the judgment. They closely reflect those set out in the written submissions for the pursuer.
“There is no finding in fact that Scottish Water knew or ought to have known of this leakage or damage, or recognising that damage ceased when the cattle were removed from the field in August 2010.”
He added: “There was no evidence that, except in 2008 with a nil result, the drainage ditch was ever tested for pollutants. No post mortem testing was carried out on the cattle, due apparently to limited veterinary resources.
“Physical cause and effect is therefore not established, and is left to inference only. There are accordingly fundamental evidential gaps, unacknowledged by the sheriff, in finding knowledge on the part of Scottish Water.”
The full ruling can be read online HERE.
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