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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2013 |
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Reported
A sale by a co‑owner can be contractually valid though transfer requires co‑owner cooperation; cancellation without contractual notice is invalid.
Property law; sale of res aliena – seller not sole owner; Alienation of Land Act s2(1) – formalities concern agents’ written authority not substantive ownership; Matrimonial Property Act s15(2) applies during marriage not post‑divorce; co‑ownership after divorce requires co‑operation for transfer; prior personal right gives claim to specific performance but equitable discretion and bona fide subsequent purchasers affect relief.
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10 October 2013 |
| September 2013 |
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Two notices of intention to defend by State Attorney and correspondent are not per se irregular; prejudice must be shown to set them aside.
Civil procedure – Rule 19 and Rule 30(1) – State Attorney may employ correspondent – filing of two notices of intention to defend by State Attorney and correspondent not per se irregular – prejudice required to set aside procedural step – pending Rule 30(1) application suspends further pleadings.
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26 September 2013 |
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"Institute action" in a time-limited order is satisfied by issuing summons, not by effecting service.
* Civil procedure – interpretation of court orders – meaning of "institute action" – issue of summons constitutes institution of action, not service; * Where language is clear, order must be construed from its terms; extrinsic evidence only if ambiguity; * Authorities considered: Labuschagne, Mati, Himmelsein, Msomi.
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26 September 2013 |
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Failure to inform and record arrestee's constitutional rights rendered an otherwise contested arrest unlawful.
Criminal procedure — Arrest — s40(1)(a) Criminal Procedure Act; Road traffic offence — s12 National Road Traffic Act; Standing Order G341 — duty to inform arrestee of constitutional rights and to record same; non-compliance with procedural safeguards may render arrest unlawful; assessment of credibility and duration of detention.
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6 September 2013 |
| August 2013 |
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Urgent interdict dismissed: applicants lacked locus and entitlement; punitive de bonis propriis attorney-and-client costs ordered.
Procedure – Urgent applications – duty of attorneys to enroll and prepare indexed papers; Company law – deregistration extinguishes company’s legal personality and locus standi; Interim relief – requirements for interdict (clear or prima facie right, reasonable apprehension of irreparable injury) not established; Rule 14 inapplicable to deregistered companies; Costs – de bonis propriis and punitive attorney-and-client costs justified where litigation is misleading, frivolous or negligently conducted.
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29 August 2013 |
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Court granted urgent interim relief: sale lapsed, lease terminated, and tenants ordered to pay rent to the owner pending finalisation.
Urgency — Rule 6(12) — assessment of founding affidavit and inherent probabilities; Contract — suspensive condition — sale agreement rendered null by non‑fulfilment and absence of written extension; Lease — month‑to‑month tenancy terminated by notice — unlawful occupation; Subleases — a sub‑lessee cannot acquire greater rights than a lessee — relief to regularise rent payments; Pleadings — authority to depose may be proved in replying affidavit.
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7 August 2013 |
| March 2013 |
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Plaintiff’s claim prescribed because prescription began when he learned of the CCMA ruling; correspondence did not interrupt prescription.
Prescription — when prescription begins to run; creditor must have minimum facts to institute action (Truter v Deysel principles); interruption of prescription by acknowledgment (s 14) requires express or tacit admission; correspondence not amounting to written admission does not interrupt prescription.
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7 March 2013 |