Education & Professional Qualifications
Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Dundee (2002)
LLB with First Class Honours, University of Dundee (2001)
Professional Career to date
Devil Masters: Mark Lindsay, Kenny McBrearty, Matt Jackson.
2009: Year of call
January 2008 - September 2008: Senior Solicitor, Thorntons Law, Edinburgh
April 2006 - December 2007: Senior Solicitor, HBJ Gateley Wareing, Commercial Litigation Department
July 2005 - April 2006: Solicitor, Ledingham Chalmers, Commercial Litigation Department
August 2004 - July 2005: Solicitor, DLA Piper, Insurance Litigation Department
August 2002 - August 2004: Trainee Solicitor, DLA Piper. Experience in Insurance Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Real Estate, Construction and Engineering.
Professional Experience
Susan called to the Bar having practised for a number of years as a solicitor in Edinburgh, in the field of commercial litigation.
Since calling to the Bar she has been instructed in relation to a wide variety of commercial disputes, with a particular focus on those involving insolvency, commercial contracts, interdict, property law and construction contracts.
In relation to insolvency matters, she has significant experience in acting on behalf of insolvency practitioners and company directors. She has acted on behalf of the joint administrators of The Rangers Football Club Plc. The case has to date involved litigation arising out of a claim against the Club's former solicitors in England; the rectification of a defective Administration appointment; a contractual dispute with Ticketus LLP; and the recovery of various documentation in connection with the Administration. She also acted on behalf of the Administrators of Heritable Bank Plc in connection with a significant dispute in the winding up of Landsbanki Islands HF, and on behalf of the administrators of The Globespan Group Plc (and associated companies).
She has also been instructed to act on behalf of a major Scottish bank in relation to various commercial matters, including the winding up of a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, the administration of a quango with a significant Scottish property portfolio, and a commercial court action for declarator in respect of a guarantee.
As a solicitor, she was involved in several high-profile commercial actions in the Court of Session, which included Anglo-Dutch Petroleum International Inc v Ramco Energy Plc, a multi-million pound action for decree conform at the instance of a Texan oil investor.
Courts & Tribunal Experience
Court of Session; Commercial Court; High Court; Sheriff Courts; Employment Tribunal.
Appointments & Memberships
2010: Member of two Faculty committees charged with preparing responses to Consultation Papers, first on "Registration of Charges Created by Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships", and secondly on the reform of insurance contract law.
Cases
Paul John Clark and David John Whitehouse, the Joint Administrators of The Rangers Football Club Plc (in Administration) [2012] CSOH 55
An application by the joint administrators in terms of paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 for directions, as to whether they could be prevented from terminating contracts which the Club entered into with Tickets LLP and Ticketus 2 LLP, in terms of which the Club sold to Ticketus large numbers of season tickets for seats in the Ibrox stadium for each of the seasons from 2011-2012 to 2014-2015.
Mr Dennis Taylor v Richard A Sandeman
The pursuer sued a solicitor for breach of contract on the grounds of professional negligence. Susan acted for the defender in successfully arguing at debate that the action should be dismissed, on the basis that the pursuer's claim had prescribed.
Petition of Gerard Anthony Friar and Blair Carnegie Nimmo, Joint Administrators of Martin Groundland Limited [2011] CSOH 14
The court considered an application to fix the reasonable remuneration payable to administrators in respect of their outlays and remuneration. The administrators sought payment of a sum in the region of £500,000 in respect of the first six months of the administration. Taking the view that the administrators' claim merited careful scrutiny, given the level of remuneration sought, the Court referred the matter back to the Reporter for his assistance, in particular in relation to (i) the hours spent in dealing with retention of title claims; and (ii) the hours spent in dealing with stock and work in progress.
Having consulted with the Reporter, the Court held that the vouching available to verify the time spent by the administrators and their employees was insufficient to support the administrators' claim for remuneration. The administrators' records did not show who was doing what and for how long in relation to any one claim. Time was recorded in half hour units. On that basis, a broad brush approach was warranted. The claims for the two items in question should be discounted by one third, to represent the uncertainty within the time recording and the lack of vouching. The motion was granted in a reduced sum.
Integrated Building Services Engineering Consultants Limited trading as Operon v Pihl UK Limited [2010] CSOH 80
This case concerned a dispute arising out of a building contract for the construction of two secondary and eight primary schools in Aberdeen. The pursuer (sub-contractor) sought to enforce three decisions of an adjudicator. The action was defended by the contractor, on the basis that it was entitled to retain any sums allegedly due, in view of the fact that it had a number of outstanding claims against the pursuer. The defender argued that the balancing of accounts in bankruptcy (otherwise "insolvency set-off") applied. The pursuer enrolled for summary decree. The court held that the defender was entitled to rely on the balancing of accounts in bankruptcy and refused the pursuer's motion for summary decree.
The Winding Up Board of Landsbanki Islands HF v Margaret Mills, Patrick Brazzill, Thomas Burton and Alan Bloom, the Joint Administrators of Heritable Bank Plc [2010] CSOH 100
The court considered the effect in the administration of Heritable Bank Plc ("Heritable") of a decision made in the winding up (in Iceland) of Landsbanki Islands HF ("Landsbanki"). Heritable is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landsbanki. Its claims in the Icelandic winding up having been rejected (applying the principles of insolvency set off), the joint administrators of Heritable made an application to the Scottish Courts appealing against that rejection of their claim. The court refused the application.
Petition of Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council in the Administration of Springfield Retail Limited [2010] CSOH 115
The Scottish courts considered for the first time the question of the payment of rent as an expense of an administration. The petition was raised by the landlord of an English property. The tenant company had gone into administration. The administrators occupied the property for a short period, then allowed a third party into occupation under a licence to occupy. The administrators paid rent for the period during which they occupied the premises, but declined to make payment of rent thereafter. The court held (following the decision of the English courts in the case of Goldacre (Offices) Limited v Nortel Networks UK Limited) that rent in respect of the period during which the third party occupied the property in terms of the licence should be paid as an administration expense.
Brandon Hire Plc v Steven Russell [2010] CSIH 76
The Inner House considered an appeal against a decision of the Sheriff of North Strathclyde at Paisley in relation to the construction of a document which set out the standard terms and conditions on which the pursuer (and respondent) and the defender (and appellant) contracted. The question was whether certain words in that document imposed personal liability on the defender. The Sheriff refused to allow the defender's averments relating to a defence on the merits. He appealed against that decision. The Inner House refused the appeal, holding that the relevant clause did in fact operate to create a personal guarantee.
James Bernard Stephen and David John Hill, Joint Administrators of QMD Hotels Limited [2010] CSOH 168
The joint administrators of a company applied for an order in terms of Section 176A(5) of the Insolvency Act 1986, disapplying Section 176A(2) of that Act, which requires them to make a "prescribed part" of the company's net property available to satisfy the claims of unsecured creditors. The basis for the application was that the costs of making a distribution would be disproportionate to the benefits. Lord Glennie held that the court should ask whether the incurring of the estimated costs is reasonably necessary. It may be that some "rough and ready adjudication" can be carried out, which would result in a dividend (albeit small) being paid to unsecured creditors. He refused the application, making an order to that effect.