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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2019 |
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Applicant’s urgent leave to take child abroad confirmed where respondent’s untested hearsay allegations did not justify travel restrictions.
Family law – Child removal and international travel – Consent of other parent – Withdrawal of consent based on hearsay allegations – Best interests of the child paramount; untested, vague allegations insufficient to restrict travel in urgent circumstances. Urgent applications – Practical limits of forensic assessment – Judicial interview of minor child permissible and admissible to assess best interests.
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29 March 2019 |
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29 March 2019 |
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29 March 2019 |
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29 March 2019 |
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29 March 2019 |
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29 March 2019 |
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28 March 2019 |
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28 March 2019 |
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28 March 2019 |
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28 March 2019 |
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27 March 2019 |
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27 March 2019 |
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A section 17(4) undertaking requires payment of future medical and related costs when incurred; lump‑sum awards are precluded.
Road Accident Fund – section 17(4) undertaking – future medical/medically‑related costs payable after costs incurred and on proof – undertaking precludes lump‑sum or capitalised awards for caregiving, special education and transport – necessity and reasonableness; application of SCA authority (Mphirime, Mbele).
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27 March 2019 |
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27 March 2019 |
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26 March 2019 |
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26 March 2019 |
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An urgent application for grandparent access and psychological investigation was dismissed as non-urgent and an abuse of process.
Family law – access by grandparent – urgent application – whether urgency established; Family law – appointment of expert to investigate alleged alienation syndrome – threshold for intrusive orders; Civil procedure – abuse of process – automatic urgency assertions in child matters; Costs – attorney and client costs for mala fides/abuse of process.
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25 March 2019 |
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Reported
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25 March 2019 |
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25 March 2019 |
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Reported
Court sets four-stage causation-quantum framework; plaintiff failed to prove causation or serious disfigurement, claim dismissed.
Road Accident Fund claims — procedural compliance with rule 33; limits of informal admissions. Delict — four-stage approach: merits, first causation (injury), second causation (sequelae), quantum (judicial estimation). Admissions of "merits" admit negligence causing the accident but not necessarily causation of plaintiff’s loss. Expert evidence — caution with neuropsychological testing, cultural/standardisation limits, and the non-binding nature of actuarial computations. Contingency allowances cannot cure failure to prove causation. Costs — court may order RAF to pay reasonable expert fees and restrict recovery by plaintiff’s legal representatives; misleading expert reports may be excluded from cost recovery.
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25 March 2019 |
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25 March 2019 |
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25 March 2019 |
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Jurisdiction - Application for lack of jurisdiction - Section 21 of the Superior Courts Act 1 O of 2013 - Court has application
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20 March 2019 |
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Appellate court reduced sentences because the trial court failed to give adequate reasons and properly weigh pre‑trial detention.
Criminal law – sentencing – inadequate reasons for exceeding prescribed minimum sentence – appellate interference permissible; pre-trial detention as factor in sentencing; treatment of prior convictions and status as first offender; confirmation of s103 firearm disqualification.
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19 March 2019 |
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19 March 2019 |
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18 March 2019 |
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18 March 2019 |
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Applicant proved future loss from childhood traumatic brain injury; court accepted experts and awarded R5,139,346.
• Delict — quantification of future loss of earnings for a minor with traumatic brain injury; expert multidisciplinary evidence and actuarial valuation. • Causation — whether post-accident neurocognitive and scholastic deficits were caused by the accident rather than pre-existing emotional events. • Quantum — appropriateness of actuarial method and contingency allowances. • Safeguarding damages — ordering trust arrangements for minors' awards.
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18 March 2019 |
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15 March 2019 |
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15 March 2019 |
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15 March 2019 |
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15 March 2019 |
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14 March 2019 |
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12 March 2019 |
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Whether a replication may be amended to rely on issue estoppel from prior judgments when the current plaintiff was not a party.
Pleadings — exception to a replication — replication is a pleading and may be excepted; Pleadings — amendment of replication — test is whether proposed case is triable; Res judicata/issue estoppel — relaxation of 'same parties' requirement in interests of justice where the same defendant fully litigated the issue previously; Collateral challenge/abuse of process — prior appellate findings may bind a party to subsequent litigation by different claimant in appropriate cases.
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12 March 2019 |
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12 March 2019 |
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12 March 2019 |
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12 March 2019 |
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8 March 2019 |
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7 March 2019 |
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7 March 2019 |
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7 March 2019 |
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Where no plea has been filed, a defendant has 20 days under Rule 22(1) to plead after an amendment; a notice of bar was irregular.
Civil procedure – Uniform Rules of Court – Amendment of pleadings – interaction of Rule 22(1) and Rule 28(8) – time to plead after amendment when no prior plea exists. Rule 28(8) limited to consequential adjustment of existing pleadings rendered non-responsive by amendment. Notice of bar issued after amendment where no plea had been filed is irregular and may be set aside under Rule 30.
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7 March 2019 |
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A winding-up cannot be granted on a prescribed debt; the extension of the rule nisi and allocation were valid.
Companies/insolvency — winding-up — creditor’s claim — prescription; winding-up proceedings do not interrupt prescription. Civil procedure — Rule 30(1) — irregular steps — Registrar not a party; Rule 30(1) not available to challenge Registrar’s allocation. Procedural — validity of extension of rule nisi where matter stood down and explanatory affidavit filed.
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6 March 2019 |
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Supervising surgeon liable for malpositioned hip implant causing dislocation and sepsis; employer vicariously liable; appeal dismissed.
Medical negligence – orthopaedic surgery – malpositioned acetabular component causing early dislocation and septic sequelae – causation established. Vicarious liability – employer liable for negligent acts of employed clinicians. Supervisory liability – consultant present and supervising when procedure performed liable for operative error. Procedural – reinstatement of lapsed appeal; costs awarded including wasted costs.
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6 March 2019 |
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6 March 2019 |
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5 March 2019 |
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5 March 2019 |
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5 March 2019 |
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5 March 2019 |