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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2021 |
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Applicant’s enforcement order for breach of vehicle‑finance settlement granted after court rejected respondent’s repeated, unsubstantiated postponement excuses.
Civil procedure – Postponement – Applicant seeking final relief under vehicle‑finance settlement – repeated postponement requests based on illness/COVID and alleged burglary of electronic equipment found not credible – litigant must show good and proper reasons with supporting proof for postponement of electronic hearings; breach of settlement and no sustainable defence – final relief granted.
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31 October 2021 |
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Urgent ex parte relief was appropriate and costs awarded; first respondent penalised with attorney-and-client costs for evasive conduct.
Civil procedure – urgent ex parte relief – rule nisi – availability where imminent harm to private property shown. Public gatherings law – Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act does not apply to gatherings regulated by the Regulation of Gatherings Act; no notice given under Regulation of Gatherings Act. Costs – discretionary exercise; general costs follow the event; punitive (attorney-and-client) costs awarded for evasive conduct and failure to comply with court processes.
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29 October 2021 |
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29 October 2021 |
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Termination on a guarantor’s death was not contrary to public policy; factual insufficiency doomed the challenge; self‑help issue moot.
Contract law – Termination on guarantor’s death – Lex commisoria – Constitutional public policy challenge requires adequate factual averment (Barkhuizen; Baedica) – Self‑help clauses prima facie invalid but moot where not exercised.
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28 October 2021 |
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Respondent found in contempt for sending harassing emails; fined R70,000 and 30 days’ imprisonment suspended for one year.
Contempt of court – elements: existence of order, knowledge/service, non-compliance; presumption of wilfulness and mala fides; burden shift to respondent to raise reasonable doubt. Protective/anti-harassment order – communications to attorneys or third parties may contravene order when content is prohibited and likely to reach applicant. Sentencing in contempt – aim to punish and to compel compliance; courts reluctant to order immediate personal liberty deprivation and often suspend imprisonment conditionally.
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28 October 2021 |
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28 October 2021 |
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An owner may not operate a tavern contrary to municipal zoning; court granted interdict enforcing the Land Use Scheme.
Land use/zoning – City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme 2018 – "Residential 1" zoning prohibits tavern use; Shebeen permit does not override zoning; Interdict to enforce zoning – requisites for interdict met; Positional sub-delegation suffices for deponent's authority; Criminal prosecution not equivalent remedy.
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27 October 2021 |
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Receiver and Liquidator may compel a non‑cooperative erstwhile spouse to attend, provide asset accounts and allow property access; police may assist.
Divorce — Receiver and Liquidator — powers to investigate, value and realize joint estate; obligation of parties to comply with receiver’s enquiries; enforcement of access to property; receiver may proceed without non‑complying party; police may be authorised to assist; costs on party-and-party scale.
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27 October 2021 |
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Oral side‑agreement cannot vary a clear fixed‑term lease; unlawful holdover justified attorney‑and‑client costs.
Contract law – Lease interpretation – Written fixed-term lease to be construed by its language and context; pre-contractual or ex post facto assertions cannot vary clear written terms. Property – Lease expiry and holdover – Occupation after valid notice of non-renewal constitutes unlawful occupation justifying ejectment. Costs – Costs clause enforceable; conduct warranting punitive attorney-and-client costs order.
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27 October 2021 |
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Court granted extension to answer certification papers but refused to compel disclosure of privileged funding‑related documents.
Class certification — third‑party litigation funding — Rule 35(12) discovery — relevance at interlocutory stage — legal advice and litigation privilege extending to documents shared confidentially with funders/insurers/consultants — common interest privilege — waiver/implied waiver — balancing disclosure against protection of class members (children) — court’s discretion and interests of justice.
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26 October 2021 |
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26 October 2021 |
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26 October 2021 |
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26 October 2021 |
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25 October 2021 |
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Anton Piller relief upheld but narrowed to documents and digital evidence directly relating to the Living Waters transaction.
Anton Piller orders – requirements: prima facie cause of action, specific/specified documents constituting vital evidence, real risk of destruction – limits to avoid fishing expeditions; amendment and narrowing of overly broad orders; execution of search and seizure; reservation of costs to pending proceedings.
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25 October 2021 |
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Court found auctioneer liable to account and pay under a three‑party sale agreement; director not personally liable.
Commercial law – three‑party joint venture for sale of imported goods; obligation to account and pay; pricing mechanism (MDM price × factor) reduced by agreement; dual accounting/under‑declaration; quantification of damages from master spreadsheet; company director’s personal liability – statutory duties (s76(3), s218(2)) and causation evaluated.
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22 October 2021 |
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22 October 2021 |
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Applicant's late, inflated Rule 43(6) claim for R4.5m was dismissed for lateness, duplication and failure to prove affordability.
Family law – Rule 43(6) applications for interim contribution to legal costs – urgency and self-created urgency – prior settlements extinguish same causa – onus to prove affordability and reasonable quantum – expert fee estimates inflated and duplicative.
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22 October 2021 |
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Court ordered execution of respondent's home after finding default, procedural compliance and no reasonable alternative to satisfy the debt.
Mortgage bonds – enforcement against primary residence; National Credit Act s129 notice; Uniform Rule 46/46A judicial oversight and requirements; proportionality and alternative means to satisfy debt; declaration of special executability; costs on attorney-and-client scale.
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22 October 2021 |
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Unsigned lease held valid by conduct; court awarded R153,900 arrear rental plus interest.
Lease law – unsigned lease enforceable by conduct and statutory provisions (Rental Housing Act; Consumer Protection Act). Civil procedure – opposed motion; requirements for a real, bona fide dispute of fact (Wightman/Plascon-Evans principles). Contract – conditioned waiver of debt must be complied with to be effective. Quantum – arrear rental readily ascertainable; court may decide on motion where calculation is straightforward.
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22 October 2021 |
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22 October 2021 |
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22 October 2021 |
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Summary judgment granted for lease arrears; tenant’s defences (misrepresentation, withholding rent, breach, delict) barred by lease terms and exemption clause.
Lease law; summary judgment — liquidated claim; misrepresentation (future vs present fact; non-reliance clause); exceptio non adimpleti contractus — rent payable in advance and express prohibition on withholding; exemption clause excluding landlord liability for theft, loss or negligence; guarantor jointly and severally liable; contractual costs clause enforceable.
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22 October 2021 |
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21 October 2021 |
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Leave to appeal granted on whether respondents' non-compliance with a court order was wilful and mala fide.
Appeal — leave to appeal — reasonable prospects of success on limited ground — whether non-compliance with court order constituted wilful and mala fide contempt — evidential onus in contempt — relevance of participation in verification exercise and correspondence — Fakie NO v CCII Systems (Pty) Ltd referenced.
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21 October 2021 |
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Tender required model-specific OEM authorisation; appointing a bidder lacking that authorisation was unlawful and irrational.
Administrative law – procurement tender interpretation – mandatory technical requirements; OEM/authorisation for specific models listed in tender; software-upgrade obligations; procedural irrationality and irrelevant considerations (price/competition) under PAJA; substitution as remedy.
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21 October 2021 |
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21 October 2021 |
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Applicant failed to prove tacit exclusivity and motion proceedings were inappropriate for a damages claim; application dismissed with costs.
- Contract law – tacit term – whether exclusivity can be inferred from express terms and circumstances; - Contract enforcement – proposed addendum not agreed and not enforceable; - Civil procedure – limitations of motion proceedings for claims requiring oral evidence, specifically damages (see EFF v Manuel); - Cause of action – requirement to plead and establish facts supporting damages claim.
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21 October 2021 |
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20 October 2021 |
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20 October 2021 |
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Arbitrator's failure to invoke contractual expert mechanism for PAT dispute amounted to gross irregularity and award set aside.
Arbitration — Review under s33(1)(b) — Contractual dispute-resolution clause requiring expert determination (not arbitration) — Arbitrator's reliance on non-expert evidence — Gross irregularity — Waiver and variation of contract — Setting aside award.
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20 October 2021 |
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Hard lockdown may extinguish rent for that period, but triable disputes on quantum and charges defeat summary judgment for payment; ejectment granted.
Lease law – summary judgment – defences in opposing affidavit and plea – water/sewerage dispute – Covid‑19 lockdown as supervening impossibility (vis major) – remission of rent for hard lockdown period – whether lease clauses exclude doctrine – leave to defend payment claim but ejectment granted.
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19 October 2021 |
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Whether the applicant’s claim for 2019 crop profits formed part of the agreed purchase price — court found it did not.
Contract interpretation; motion proceedings: when factual disputes may be resolved on affidavits; calculation of purchase price for members’ interest; exclusion of post-agreement claims introduced after cut-off date.
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18 October 2021 |
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18 October 2021 |
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18 October 2021 |
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Applicants failed to show a prima facie right to justify an interim interdict staying eviction pending challenge to past property transfers.
Urgent application – interim interdict – requirements (prima facie right open to doubt; irreparable harm; balance of convenience; no adequate remedy). Challenge to property registration – effect of delay and intervening transfers on entitlement to interim relief. Eviction orders – whether execution may be stayed pending collateral challenge to title.
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14 October 2021 |
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Cumulative circumstantial and similar-fact evidence upheld convictions where alternative inferences were excluded.
Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – principles in R v Blom applied; inference must be consistent with all proved facts and the facts collectively must exclude reasonable alternative inferences. Similar-fact evidence – admissible to establish design/system where probative force justifies reception. Appellate review – deference to trial court factual findings absent demonstrable and material misdirection. Credibility of police search and recovery evidence – minor discrepancies do not necessarily destroy reliability.
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14 October 2021 |
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14 October 2021 |
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Eviction order obtained in applicants' absence was rescinded due to procedural defects and viable rescission grounds.
Civil procedure – Rescission – Uniform Rule 42(1)(a) – Judgment erroneously granted where facts existed at the time unknown to the court and would have prevented the order. Rescission – Common law – requirements: reasonable explanation for default, bona fides, prima facie defence with prospects of success. PIE – section 4(2) notice requirements – notice must indicate date and time of hearing; court must have full information to undertake just and equitable enquiry. Evictions – court must consider all relevant personal circumstances before granting or implementing eviction orders. Partial rescission – rescission may be confined to those respondents who apply where others may be affected or have taken up alternative relief. Costs – opportunistic or procedurally defective litigation can attract adverse costs orders.
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13 October 2021 |
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12 October 2021 |