Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited and The Trump Organization LLC v. Scottish Ministers

The Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Limited (AOWFL) applied for permission to build and operate an 11 turbine wind farm off the coast of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism granted consent to build the wind farm without holding a public inquiry. Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited and the Trump Organization LLC (collectively referred to as “Trump”), which is developing a golf course and resort 3.5 kilometers from the wind farm, challenged the approval on the grounds that: 1) AOWFL did not hold a license to generate electricity; 2) the Minister was biased in favor of AOWFL; and 3) the consent lacked an enforcement mechanism to ensure that AOWFL complied with design conditions. A lower court denied Trump’s petition, and Trump appealed. The appeals court rejected all of Trump’s arguments, finding that a license was not required at the time of consent, there was no evidence of improper bias on the part of the Minister, and enforceable conditions attached to the Minister’s consent.