North East Fife District Council v Nisbet & Anor [2000] ScotCS 47 (25 February 2000)

North East Fife District Council v Nisbet & Anor [2000] ScotCS 47 (25 February 2000)

The court held that the sheriff was entitled to find, on the totality of the historical, cartographic, and oral evidence, that a public right of way for pedestrian traffic existed over the route as of 1925 and that the right had not been lost by non-use or exclusion, as there was sufficient evidence of continued, albeit slight, public use.

Citation
[2000] ScotCS 47
Parties
Pursuers and Respondents: North East Fife District Council; Defenders and Appellants: Robert Hugh McDiarmid Nisbet and Mrs Elizabeth Frederika Pont or Nisbet
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
25 February 2000
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Appeal From Sheriff Principal to Inner House, Court of Session
Outcome
Appeal refused
Legal Topics
Establishment and Extinction of Public Rights of Way, Prescription (scotland) Act 1973, Evidentiary Standards for Public Rights of Way, Historical Use and Tradition in Property Law
Property Law Public Rights of Way Establishment and Extinction of Public Rights of Way Prescription (scotland) Act 1973 Evidentiary Standards for Public Rights of Way Historical Use and Tradition in Property Law

Case Brief

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Parties

North East Fife District Council

Pursuers and Respondents

Robert Hugh McDiarmid Nisbet and Mrs Elizabeth Frederika Pont or Nisbet

Defenders and Appellants

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Appeal From Sheriff Principal to Inner House, Court of Session

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a public right of way for pedestrian traffic existed over the specified route as of 1925 and whether that right had been lost by non-use or exclusion.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the sheriff was entitled to find, on the totality of the historical, cartographic, and oral evidence, that a public right of way for pedestrian traffic existed over the route as of 1925 and that the right had not been lost by non-use or exclusion, as there was sufficient evidence of continued, albeit slight, public use.

Court Disposition

Appeal refused

Orders

  • The appeal is refused.