LEGAL challenges of all sorts have been flying thick and fast in Ross-shire over the past few years.
Tesco lodged one over a Highland Council planning decision in favour of an Asda in Tain it wasn't that keen on. The legal challenge ultimately fell on stony ground, though the good people of Tain have still to see the additional supermarket competition the majority clearly crave.
It won't come until next year, barring any major twists (and who would bet against that?).
Maverick tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed also resorted to the courts in challenging plans for a £43million waste-to-energy incineration plant in Invergordon, a few miles down the road from the Easter Ross estate he owns.
The action has been successful in stopping the plans in their tracks for the time being with a Scottish Government Reporter now re-examining the issue and, potentially, paving the way for a public local inquiry.
News of the latest legal challenge emerged this week when the businesswoman behind plans for a "green" eco-lodge near Dundonnell in Wester Ross declared she was ready to walk away from her long-cherished proposals after a neighbouring landowner took action in the Court of Session.
At the time of writing, that is still very much in the melting pot.
What all of these diverse legal manoeuvres have in common is that they don't come cheap. Opponents of the incinerator scheme count themselves lucky they could rely on the support of someone with deep pockets and a strong sense of justice. The downside of this though is the fact that the system is deeply intimidating for those at the sharp end and, sometimes, prohibitively expensive to defend.
MSP Rob Gibson declared the Dundonnell case this week to be a "blocking tactic" and, if that is indeed the case, it's much to be regretted. The planning system is far from perfect but can at least claim to be rooted in the democratic process, warts and all.
The vast majority of people would, surely, whether they are for or against a particular proposal, prefer to see its merits and shortcomings debated on a level playing field
