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Citation
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Judgment date
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| July 2022 |
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Leave to appeal dismissed: applicant showed no prospects for rescission or authority to represent insolvent close corporations.
• Civil procedure – leave to appeal – s17(1) Superior Courts Act – reasonable prospects of success or compelling reasons required.
• Rescission – requirement to show wilful default and a bona fide defence – bare assertions insufficient to establish a triable issue.
• Locus standi/authority – sequestrated shareholder’s ability to represent insolvent close corporations; trustees’ authority and Rule 7 challenges.
• Insolvency law – constitutional challenge to s150(3) of the Insolvency Act not properly pleaded or argued.
• Costs – unsuccessful applicant who personally pursued the application ordered to pay costs; de bonis propriis costs declined.
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29 July 2022 |
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Court awarded R3,000,000 for loss of earning capacity in RAF default judgment after assessing expert evidence and actuarial guidance.
* Road Accident Fund – default judgment – defendant failed to file intention to defend – liability established where no contributory negligence proven.
* Personal injury – brain injury with neurocognitive sequelae, chronic osteomyelitis and limb discrepancy – impact on mobility and earning capacity.
* Assessment of damages – weight of multidisciplinary expert reports; limits of expert scope; actuarial calculations as guideline versus judicial discretion.
* Loss of earning capacity – court may award a reasonable and fair lump sum where mathematical certainty is lacking.
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29 July 2022 |
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Past loss of earnings dismissed; R1,636,520 awarded for future loss of earnings after actuarial contingency deductions.
Damages — Motor collision — Quantification of past and future loss of earnings — Past loss dismissed where applicant returned to work and received full remuneration — Actuarial computation accepted for future loss — Contingency discounts applied (25% uninjured, 30% injured) — Separation of issues under Rule 33(4) — Costs awarded including experts and counsel.
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28 July 2022 |
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Default judgment: defendant 100% liable; past medical expenses awarded; actuarial-based loss rejected; R2,000,000 awarded for loss of earnings.
Default judgment; service and notice compliance; negligence established; admissibility and weight of expert and actuarial evidence where underlying facts unproven; rejection of actuarial calculation based on unreliable inputs; referral of future medical and general damages to Full Court; award of past medical expenses and global loss of earnings.
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27 July 2022 |
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Applicants' urgent bid to stay execution, obtain leave to appeal and recuse a judge was dismissed for lack of competence and merit.
Civil procedure — urgent interdict/stay of execution — leave to appeal and recusal — competence of forum — finality of judgments and legal certainty — vexatious litigant.
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27 July 2022 |
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Postponement granted after untimely interlocutory application disrupted trial; rescission pre‑authorisation and Rule 7 interdict refused.
Postponement – untimely interlocutory application at roll call – bona fide reason and lack of undue prejudice justify postponement; Recission – no pre‑authorisation; Rule 7 – final interdict inappropriate where compliant response filed; Costs – costs in the cause.
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26 July 2022 |
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Piecemeal exceptions dismissed; particulars adequately pleaded and constitutional damages/emotional shock claims not inherently defective.
* Civil procedure — Exceptions — Pleadings to be read as a whole; exceptions not to be over‑technical; excipient must show no cause of action on any reasonable interpretation.
* Pleadings — Vagueness and embarrassment — Two‑fold inquiry: lack of particularity and prejudice/embarrassment to excipient preventing plea or trial preparation.
* Delict — Misrepresentation, fraud and negligent misrepresentation — need for pleading facta probanda (material facts) to sustain delictual claims.
* Enrichment — Requirements for unjust enrichment must be pleaded with requisite elements.
* Damages — Emotional shock/psychiatric injury — recognised head of damage requiring evidence; particularity of pleading relevant.
* Constitutional law — Constitutional damages — permissible in appropriate cases; not per se punitive and not inherently incompetent as a pleading.
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26 July 2022 |
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Review granted: disciplinary finding set aside for defective reasons, misapplied onus, and conviction on main and alternative charges.
Administrative law – PAJA review – exhaustion of internal remedies (s7(2)) – reviewability where internal appeal refused; PAJA s7(1) time limits and condonation; disciplinary proceedings – adequacy of reasons – assessment and weighing of competing expert evidence; onus of proof; necessity to specify whether guilty of ‘improper’ or ‘disgraceful’ conduct; conviction on main and alternative charges unlawful; remedy – review and setting aside; fresh inquiry with different panel.
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26 July 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused where warrant execution was proper and late constitutional/hearsay complaints were unsubstantiated.
• Civil procedure – leave to appeal – s 17(1)(a) Superior Courts Act – reasonable prospect of success or compelling reason required.
• Property restitution – mandament van spolie – execution of warrant and lawfulness of dispossession.
• Constitutional issues – belatedly raised rights (s 10, 12, 14, 21, 25, 34, 35) not pursued at hearing.
• Evidence – hearsay objection rejected where deponent personally present and applicant failed to rebut.
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25 July 2022 |
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Plaintiff’s claim for unlawful detention and invasive search rejected on probabilities and lack of corroborative evidence.
Police powers – stop and search – whether traffic stop and subsequent search amounted to unlawful detention or invasive bodily search; evaluation of conflicting versions on probabilities; importance of contemporaneous corroborative evidence.
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25 July 2022 |
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Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal granted due to reasonable prospects of success and compelling reasons.
Applications for leave to appeal – Superior Courts Act s17 and Rule 49 – test whether another court would reasonably reach a different conclusion – compelling reasons (including alleged conflicting decisions in same division) may justify leave – costs of leave application to be costs in appeal.
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25 July 2022 |
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A late, uncondoned request for reasons and speculative appeal prospects did not justify staying execution of a warrant.
* Civil procedure – urgent application to stay execution – late request for reasons under Rule 49(1) without condonation insufficient to suspend execution. * Appeal prospects – speculative where success depends on sequential condonation and leave applications. * Interim relief – applicant must establish real prospects of success and irreparable harm; unsupported financial or policy assertions are insufficient. * Road Accident Fund – duty to actively engage claims process and cannot opportunistically delay judgment enforcement.
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25 July 2022 |
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Applicant's exception to counterclaim for vagueness and failure to disclose a cause of action upheld; leave to amend granted.
Civil procedure — exception for vagueness and failure to disclose cause of action; pleading requirements — rule 18(6) (contracts) and sufficiency of facta probanda; electronic service — rule 19/4A consent or court order required; statutory prerequisites — Estate Agency Affairs Act (fidelity fund certificate) and Alienation of Land Act compliance; amendment of pleadings and leave to amend.
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25 July 2022 |
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The defendant's negligent intrapartum monitoring and failure to expedite delivery caused the infant's hypoxic brain injury.
Medical negligence – intrapartum care – hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (mixed pattern) – causation (but-for) – missing CTG/partogram and adverse inference – failure to expedite caesarean section – inappropriate/continued use of uterotonics – weight and repudiation of joint expert minutes – late plea amendment refused – attorney-and-client costs awarded.
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22 July 2022 |
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Application to suspend or strike attorney for administrative non-compliance dismissed; misconduct not proven; each party to pay costs.
Legal Practice Act – requirement of Fidelity Fund Certificate; disciplinary proceedings sui generis – three-stage enquiry for striking off (misconduct proven on balance of probabilities; fitness to practise; appropriate sanction); FICA registration and council rules on trust accounts and banking jurisdiction; administrative non-compliance versus dishonesty; remedies: striking off, suspension, corrective measures.
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22 July 2022 |
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Controller correctly refused belated retail-licence; appeal does not revive application; regulation 6(2)(a) valid.
Administrative law; petroleum licensing — mandatory requirement that retail licence applications be lodged with corresponding site applications (Reg 15(4), Reg 17(a)); functus officio — refusal final once communicated and appeal does not revive application; Minister cannot decide site-licence appeal absent corresponding retail-licence appeal; regulation 6(2)(a) intra vires the Petroleum Products Act.
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21 July 2022 |
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Attachment of respondent’s pension benefits for child maintenance denied due to minimal arrears and lack of dissipation evidence.
* Maintenance law – recovery of arrear maintenance – attachment of pension/annuity interests under the Maintenance Act and interaction with Pension Funds Act s 37A.
* Attachment/dissipation orders – requirements for securing future maintenance and when pension benefits may be attached.
* Civil procedure – characterization of payments pre-dating court orders and retrospective application of settlement agreements.
* Relevant authorities – Mngadi (arrear recovery and dissipation) and Magewu v Zozo (future maintenance security).
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21 July 2022 |
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Pay‑now‑argue‑later tax regime upheld; interim interdict and late supplementary affidavit properly refused.
Customs and excise – 'pay now, argue later' taxation regime – prima facie right to payment; interim interdict requirements; rule 30 irregular step; rule 53(4) supplementation; section 96 notice requirement; reviewability of Commissioner’s discretion (Metcash).
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20 July 2022 |
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Provisional sequestration discharged where another creditor’s tender eliminated the sequestrating creditor’s claim and locus standi.
* Insolvency — sequestration — provisional sequestration discharged where rival creditor tenders repayment of sequestrating creditor’s claim.
* Judicial discretion — court may refuse final sequestration in special or unusual circumstances where tender removes creditor status and serves creditor benefit.
* Locus standi — tender that extinguishes applicant’s claim deprives applicant of standing to seek sequestration.
* Costs — apportioned according to events before and after intervening creditor’s tender/ intervention.
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20 July 2022 |
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An interim appointment of a curator ad litem to investigate minors' best interests is not appealable; appeal struck with costs.
* Family law – appointment of curator ad litem – investigatory role to determine best interests of minor children; * Civil procedure – appealability of interim orders – Zweni criteria and interests of justice test; * Interim contact rights pending curator investigation; * Courts may strike appeals against non-final, investigatory interim orders.
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20 July 2022 |
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Exceptions upheld: enrichment and fraud-based repayment claims against former directors were inadequately pleaded; leave to amend granted.
Pleadings — exceptions — conflation of causes of action — unjustified enrichment must plead specific causa and elements; fraud requires pleaded misrepresentation — fiduciary breaches and recovery of director remuneration — liability of competing company not disclosed without pleaded receipt/participation.
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20 July 2022 |
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Leave to appeal and cross-appeal granted to full court, but not in respect of the discretionary costs order (paragraph 6.1).
Applications for leave to appeal and cross-appeal; appeal against exercise of judicial discretion — threshold for leave to appeal discretionary costs order; leave under s 17(6)(a) Superior Courts Act; costs of leave applications to be costs in the appeals.
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20 July 2022 |
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Whether liability for goods delivered to Zambia rests with the respondent or its Zambian branch; disputes of fact precluded relief.
Contract formation and privity between corporate branches; interpretation of purchase orders and invoices; whether motion proceedings can resolve genuine disputes of fact (Plascon-Evans); evidential sufficiency for asserting a loan versus payment by branch.
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19 July 2022 |
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First and fourth respondents found in contempt for using the applicant’s software despite notice; matter remitted to determine sanction.
* Civil procedure – contempt of court – requirements for committal: underlying order; service/notice; non‑compliance; wilfulness and mala fides – criminal standard where imprisonment sought (Fakie; Tasima).
* Interim injunctions and scope – whether an evaluation/demo copy falls within the prohibited software in an injunction.
* Evidentiary burden – once order, notice and non‑compliance proved, respondent must rebut wilfulness and mala fides.
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19 July 2022 |
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Applicant’s PAJA challenge to immigration finding of illegal foreigner dismissed for failure to rebut evidence of Zimbabwean origin.
Administrative law; PAJA — review of immigration decision; Immigration Act — powers of immigration officers to investigate and find illegal foreigners; admissibility and probative weight of documentary evidence (school registers, MCS records, commissioned affidavits); Plascon-Evans application where applicant fails to rebut respondent’s factual allegations; costs and limited stay on further proceedings until costs paid.
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19 July 2022 |
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Court declared an unregistered customary marriage valid and the later civil marriage void, ordering registration and withdrawal of executorship.
Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 – validity of customary marriage despite non-registration (s4(9)) – effect of subsisting customary marriage on subsequent civil marriage (s3(2)) – evidentiary sufficiency of documentary proof v. need for oral evidence – remedial orders: registration, expunging, withdrawal of executorship, accounting for estate funds.
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19 July 2022 |
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Body corporate lacked locus standi and pleaded no valid duty of care; exception upheld and particulars of claim set aside.
Delict — duty of care — adequacy of pleadings to establish duty and wrongfulness; locus standi of body corporate to claim for latent defects; effect of voetstoots sale agreements; exception — particulars of claim set aside; costs punitive.
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18 July 2022 |
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Senior SARS official lawfully authorised third‑party notices without final demand under s179(6); review dismissed with costs.
Tax recovery – third‑party notices (s179 TAA) – dispensing with final demand (s179(6)) where senior official satisfied demand would prejudice recovery; review – reasonableness, rationality and procedural fairness (audi) in tax collection; bona fide factual dispute requirement (Wightman).
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18 July 2022 |
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Finance agreements novated the sale, but the seller remained liable under separate warranties enforceable by the purchaser.
Contract – Novation – installment sale and lease agreements with finance houses superseded initial seller–purchaser sale; Dealer liability – written warranty contained in Service Passport enforceable as a self‑standing undertaking and/or third‑party beneficiary obligation; Warranty exclusions – applicability to be determined; Pleading and costs – separated issues and allocation of costs.
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18 July 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused where uncontroverted evidence showed no reasonable prospect success on special plea about delay in accounting.
Appeal — leave to appeal — no reasonable prospect of success where evidence is uncontroverted; special plea alleging unreasonable delay in rendering account — no basis to uphold; costs awarded.
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18 July 2022 |
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Plaintiff's arrest and detention declared unlawful; s3 notice held timeous; R600,000 awarded for 17 days' detention.
* Administrative law / civil claims against the State – Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002 – s 3(2) notice – when debt becomes due where civil claim runs parallel to criminal proceedings.
* Civil procedure – joinder – whether NDPP is necessary party – plaintiff may sue one of several potential wrongdoers.
* Delict – unlawful arrest and detention – onus on State to justify arrest; liability for subsequent detention where remand foreseeable and no lawful justification proved.
* Damages – assessment of solatium for short-term unlawful detention; quantum fixed at R600,000 for 17 days.
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18 July 2022 |
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18 July 2022 |
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An asylum-seeking medical graduate is not entitled to a funded internship where lawful, resource-based policy prioritises citizens and requires self-funding.
* Health law – Medical internship allocation – prioritisation of South African citizens for funded posts; non-citizens limited to self-funded/sponsored posts.
* Administrative law – Review – policy-laden, polycentric decisions – judicial deference to executive resource and policy choices.
* Constitutional law – Equality (s9) and limitation (s36) – differentiation between citizens and non-citizens in allocation of public resources justified by legitimate aims and scarce resources.
* Refugee/immigration law – asylum seekers’ rights – no automatic entitlement to benefits reserved for citizens; placement subject to immigration status and permission to stay.
* Contract law – acceptance of an unfunded internship binds the applicant and limits review remedies.
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18 July 2022 |
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Arrest and detention lawful under s40(1)(b); prosecution founded on reasonable and probable cause, no malice found.
Criminal procedure – Arrest without warrant – s40(1)(b) CPA – reasonable suspicion must be based on solid, objective grounds; failure to obtain exculpatory statement not fatal where information is not tenuous. Malicious prosecution – reasonable and probable cause requires subjective honest belief plus objective reasonableness; absence of animo iniuriandi required.
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18 July 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove prima facie right, irreparable harm and balance of convenience for interim interdict over rental income.
Interim interdict — entitlement to fruits of property — prima facie right must be pleaded; irreparable harm and balance of convenience assessed — prior interim order preserving res litigiosa does not establish right to rental proceeds; adequate alternative remedies (discovery/particulars) in main action.
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18 July 2022 |
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Appellant’s appeal dismissed; SARS’s estimation method, understatement penalties and interest upheld due to gross negligence and obstruction.
Tax administration — estimated assessments — reasonableness of methodology based on available records; understatement penalties (s 222 TAA) — gross negligence and obstructive conduct; burden of proof (s 102 TAA); interest (s 89quat); costs (s 130 TAA).
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18 July 2022 |
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Streets shown on approved township plans are public roads; homeowners' association may not restrict access absent statutory authorisation.
Public roads – township general plan filed with Surveyor‑General and Deeds Office vests roads in municipality under Local Government Ordinance s63; Restriction of access – homeowners' association may not lawfully close or lock public roads absent statutory authorisation under Rationalisation of Local Government Affairs Act 10 of 1998 (ss43–46) and prescribed notice/consultation procedures; Distinction from private estate roads – factual determination whether roads form part of individual erven; Declaratory and interdictory relief; Condonation for late affidavits.
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18 July 2022 |
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Applicant not entitled to documents after tender cancellation; withdrawal of tender requires legality review, not PAJA relief.
Access to information – PAIA – request for tender documents after cancellation – no BEC/BAC appointed, documents non-existent; withdrawal of tender not an administrative act for PAJA review but subject to legality review; urgency not established.
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18 July 2022 |
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Applicant failed to show actual or reasonable apprehension of bias by the enquiry commissioner; application dismissed with costs.
Company enquiries (s 417/418) — recusal of commissioner — test for reasonable apprehension of bias — objective reasonable informed person standard; use of 'suspicion' or illustrative references (e.g. 'money laundering') in fact‑finding enquiries; entitlement of commissioner to control proceedings; protection against self‑incrimination for answers at s 417 enquiries; punitive costs—where appropriate.
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15 July 2022 |
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Section 93J mandates the board alone to appoint a municipal entity CEO; SDA concurrence clause is ultra vires.
Municipal entities – Appointment of CEO – Interpretation of s93J MSA – Board’s mandatory duty to appoint – Service Delivery Agreement clause requiring municipal concurrence ultra vires – Review and setting aside of refusal to concur and re-advertisement – Principle of legality.
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14 July 2022 |
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Registration of a sectional title scheme and transfers can render restoration of the original property impossible.
Sectional Titles Act – registration of sectional title scheme divides land into sections; impossibility of performance – where sectional title registration and subsequent transfers occurred, specific restitution of the whole property is impossible; procedure – separated issue confined to impossibility may be decided on common cause Deeds Office records.
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14 July 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused where applicant failed to show reasonable prospects for rescission of mortgage default judgment.
Leave to appeal — s17 Superior Courts Act — higher threshold 'would have a reasonable prospect of success'; Rescission of judgment — Rule 42, Rule 31(2)(b) and common law — requirements and distinction; Fraud and non‑service allegations — particularity and evidentiary onus; Discretion, delay and res judicata in repeated rescission applications; Mortgage enforcement and sale in execution.
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14 July 2022 |
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A vehicle left unattended on a slope that rolled and injured a pedestrian constitutes 'driving' attracting RAF liability.
* Road Accident Fund Act — s17 liability — requirement that injury be caused by or arise from 'driving' of a motor vehicle.
* s20 deeming provisions — vehicle propelled by gravity or momentum; person who left vehicle deemed to be driving it.
* Evidence — failure to cross‑examine; unchallenged witness evidence accepted.
* Negligence — failure to apply handbrake/re‑engage gear amounts to negligence attracting RAF liability.
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13 July 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove maintenance pendente lite or need for cost contribution; condonation for late answering affidavit refused.
* Family law – Rule 43 – maintenance pendente lite – claimant must prove actual and reasonable needs and respondent’s capacity to pay; expenses must be corroborated. * Civil procedure – condonation – late answering affidavit refused where delay inadequately explained. * Family law – contribution towards litigation costs – discretionary and dependent on need and respondent’s means.
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13 July 2022 |
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A Rule 23(1) notice of intention to except validly responds to a notice of bar and precludes default judgment.
Civil procedure – Rule 23(1) notice of intention to except; constitutes a pleading/next procedural step and valid response to a notice of bar (Rule 26); effect on default judgment; Rule 30 to challenge irregular steps; precedential weight of Tuffsan Investments and related authorities.
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12 July 2022 |
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Negligent failure to read documents and no pleaded misrepresentation defeated rescission of suretyship judgment.
Rescission — requirements for good cause (Colyn/Grant): reasonable explanation for default; bona fides; bona fide defence with prospects of success; Suretyship — signatory bound absent misrepresentation, fraud, duress or undue influence; Unilateral mistake (iustus error) — narrow scope and insufficient without misrepresentation; Negligence in failing to read summons does not constitute reasonable explanation for default.
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12 July 2022 |
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Rescission refused where valid domicilium service, NCA inapplicable and oral variation barred by non‑variation clause.
Civil procedure – rescission of judgment – service at chosen domicilium valid even if premises vacant; default judgment properly granted – National Credit Act s4(1) exclusion of juristic person agreements – non‑variation (Shifren) clause defeats alleged oral variations – rescission (rule 31/42/common law) refused for lack of sufficient cause.
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12 July 2022 |
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An FSCA interview denying timely access to documents breached procedural fairness and was reviewable and set aside.
Administrative law – FSCA investigations – Procedural fairness and natural justice – Duty to provide documents before questioning where statutory obligations compel full, truthful answers (s139 FSR Act) – Reviewability of investigatory process where prejudice inevitable – PAJA implications – Removal of investigation panel members.
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8 July 2022 |
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A secured creditor must pay realized sale proceeds to liquidators; disputed post-liquidation rent cannot be unilaterally set off.
Insolvency law – section 83 Insolvency Act – secured creditor who realises security must pay realized proceeds to trustees/liquidators; unilateral set-off of disputed post-liquidation/administrative rent against sale proceeds is impermissible; factual disputes on entitlement to administrative rent require oral evidence; trustees entitled to net proceeds of realization.
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6 July 2022 |
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Applicant's vague Rule 30A/Rule 53 request dismissed: must identify decisions/record; respondent cannot produce third‑party (IPID) files.
Administrative law – Rule 53 record for review proceedings – applicant must identify with clarity the decisions, dates, decision‑makers and documents sought; Rule 53 does not compel production of documents held by third parties (IPID); insufficiently particular founding affidavit warrants dismissal of Rule 30A relief.
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6 July 2022 |