Marinello v The City Of Edinburgh Council [2010] ScotCS CSOH_17 (02 March 2010)

Marinello v The City Of Edinburgh Council [2010] ScotCS CSOH_17 (02 March 2010)

The 2007 incident lacked sufficient nexus in time, place, and circumstances to be part of the alleged course of conduct with the earlier workplace incidents. Without the 2007 incident, the last alleged act of harassment occurred in 2005, and the action, raised in 2008, is time-barred under section 18B of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. No case was pled for the court to exercise its equitable discretion to allow the action out of time.

Citation
[2010] ScotCS CSOH_17
Parties
Pursuer: Frederick Marinello; Defenders: The City of Edinburgh Council
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
02 March 2010
Procedural Posture
Civil Action for Damages (harassment) / Procedure Roll Hearing on Relevancy and Time Bar
Outcome
Action dismissed as time-barred.
Legal Topics
Harassment at Work, Protection From Harassment Act 1997 (scotland), Prescription and Limitation (scotland) Act 1973, Time Bar/limitation, Course of Conduct, Workplace Bullying
Employment Law Civil Procedure Tort/delict Harassment at Work Protection From Harassment Act 1997 (scotland) Prescription and Limitation (scotland) Act 1973 Time Bar/limitation Course of Conduct +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Frederick Marinello

Pursuer

The City of Edinburgh Council

Defenders

Procedural Posture

Civil Action for Damages (harassment) / Procedure Roll Hearing on Relevancy and Time Bar

Legal Issues

  1. 1 What is the threshold for conduct to amount to harassment under section 8 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (Scotland)?
  2. 2 Does the alleged 2007 incident form part of a course of conduct with earlier workplace incidents for the purposes of the Act?
  3. 3 Is the action time-barred under section 18B of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973?

Ratio Decidendi

The 2007 incident lacked sufficient nexus in time, place, and circumstances to be part of the alleged course of conduct with the earlier workplace incidents. Without the 2007 incident, the last alleged act of harassment occurred in 2005, and the action, raised in 2008, is time-barred under section 18B of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. No case was pled for the court to exercise its equitable discretion to allow the action out of time.

Court Disposition

Action dismissed as time-barred.

Orders

  • Averments in condescendence 4(x) deleted.
  • Action dismissed.