Ohlsson's Cape Breweries Ltd v Totten [1911] ZATPD 11 (23 February 1911)

lnsolvency - Act of lnsolvency - Liabilities exceeding assets - Onus of Proof - Law 13 of 1895

When a creditor seeks to have his debtor's estate sequestrated, on the ground that such debtor's liabilities exceed his assets, the applicant must prove clearly that the respondent is insolvent, and the Court will makes no sequestration order, unless such proof be made and it be satisfied that the creditors will benefit by such an order.

Where a creditor proved that his debtor's liabilities might exceed his assets by £15, but there was no certainty of that fact, the Court refused to sequestrate the debtor's estate, and ordered the applicant to pay the costs of the application.