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Citation
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Judgment date
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| August 2023 |
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Buyer failed to prove seller knowingly concealed a latent defect; voetstoots clause upheld and claim dismissed.
Sale of goods – voetstoots clause – latent defects – seller’s liability excluded unless buyer proves seller knew of and fraudulently concealed defect; corporate knowledge – knowledge attributable only to directing mind and will, not mere clerical staff; invoices and internal processes – invoice to creditors clerk insufficient to notify or bind seller’s authorising/technical personnel; fraud distinguished from negligence; costs – difficult questions of law/fact justify higher tariff under Magistrates’ Court rule 33(8).
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22 August 2023 |
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Court convicted the accused of raping two minors, accepting a single complainant’s credible testimony and rejecting the accused’s improbable version.
Criminal law – rape – single witness (child) evidence – cautionary approach – assessment of inconsistencies and inherent probabilities – conviction on single credible witness plus supporting ‘mosaic’ evidence – no adverse inference where complainant psychotic and unable to testify.
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18 August 2023 |
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Sale of jointly owned land without a co-owner's written consent is void despite deeds registration; estoppel did not cure it.
• Alienation of Land Act s 2(1) – written signature/authority required for alienation of land; non-compliance renders transaction of no force or effect.
• Alienation of Land Act s 28(2) – statutory cure requires full performance by all parties and valid transfer; registration alone insufficient where real agreement defective.
• Transfer – abstract system: registration coupled with a valid real agreement (intention of transferor/transferee) required to pass ownership.
• Estoppel by conduct – owner rarely estopped from vindicating property; must show representation by owner, reasonable reliance and prejudice; reliance on an imposter does not found estoppel against owner.
• Remedy – setting aside of void sale and power of attorney; restitution and transfer back; costs allocation; s 28(1) monetary claims require evidentiary basis.
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17 August 2023 |
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A municipality’s belated rescission of a default judgment failed for lack of reasonable explanation and no prima facie defence.
Rescission of default judgment – common-law test (reasonable explanation and bona fide defence with prospects) ; Municipal procurement – emergency deviations under SCM policy; Validity of contracts and MFMA s116 requirements; Imputability of municipal officials’ knowledge; Admissibility of correspondence evidencing settlement and municipal conduct; Costs – punitive costs for dilatory or mala fide municipal conduct.
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17 August 2023 |
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NDPP failed to prove respondent entities held "realisable property" or received "affected gifts" from defendants; restraint discharged.
POCA — restraint orders — confirmation requires reasonable grounds for believing a confiscation order may be made; evidence must possibly support conviction and confiscation. "Realisable property" and "affected gift" — an affected gift requires that a defendant (directly or indirectly) made the gift; causal link to a charged person is essential. Statutory interpretation — term "defendant" cannot be extended to uncharged persons absent prosecution or clear statutory intention. Evidential sufficiency — transfers, valuations and assertions of payment-for-value must be supported by reliable evidence to justify restraint.
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8 August 2023 |
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Admitting and relying on hearsay in sentencing proceedings was a material misdirection, reducing an otherwise custodial sentence.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Admissibility of hearsay in aggravation — s3 Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988 — pre-sentence reports and victim-impact evidence — impermissible reliance on hearsay vitiates sentencing exercise; Criminal law — Sentencing — Use of minimum-sentence 'yardstick' where minimums inapplicable and defence precluded from addressing such considerations — misdirection warranting appellate interference; Fraud — breach of trust by employee — seriousness and mitigation assessed.
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8 August 2023 |