Bernera Community Association Faces £10,000 Suit as Legal Aid-Backed Case Heads to December Debate
Updated
Updated · stornowaygazette.co.uk · Aug 20
Bernera Community Association Faces £10,000 Suit as Legal Aid-Backed Case Heads to December Debate
2 articles · Updated · stornowaygazette.co.uk · Aug 20
Summary
Stornoway Sheriff Court continued Claire Kellerman’s action against Bernera Community Association to a legal debate in December, extending a case the volunteer-run group says could push it toward bankruptcy.
£10,000 is the sum sought after Kellerman’s claim was shifted from Bernera Community Development Trust, which had already incurred more than £7,000 in legal costs before her lawyers admitted it had sued the wrong body.
Scottish Legal Aid Board said no payments have yet been made to the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre and defended its handling as fully compliant, despite criticism that legal aid was allowed to continue after the defendant was fundamentally changed.
Donald Mackinnon MSP has asked for an urgent review, arguing public funding should face stricter scrutiny on legal basis, prospects of success and reasonableness when small community bodies are left absorbing mounting costs.
Business owners in Stornoway described a wider pattern of alleged confrontations over dog access, saying fear of costly litigation has discouraged some from speaking out even as sympathy grows for Bernera groups.