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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2017 |
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Reported
Application to bar future litigation under the Vexatious Proceedings Act refused; interdict against defamatory statements granted.
Civil procedure – Vexatious Proceedings Act s 2(1)(b) – statutory restraint requires persistent, recurring institution of proceedings and absence of reasonable ground. Civil procedure – inherent/common-law power (Corderoy) – restraint requires habitual, persistent vexatious litigation and proceedings obviously unsustainable as a matter of certainty. Labour/employment – claims arising before 30 June 2000 – declarations of final determination or prescription refused for want of particularity and due to legal uncertainty. Interdict – defamatory statements – final interdict granted where communications were prima facie defamatory and other requirements met.
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7 December 2017 |
| November 2017 |
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Interlocutory refusal to produce unredacted sales and licence documents was overturned; confidentiality alone does not bar Rule 35 discovery.
Civil procedure – discovery – Rule 35(3),(7),(12) – confidentiality is not prima facie privilege – producing party must establish legal privilege. Discovery – relevance – objective test whether documents may advance applicant’s case or damage opponent’s case; redaction of material portions impermissible. Appealability – interests of justice standard may permit interlocutory appeals; appellate review where discretion exercised on wrong appreciation of facts. Trade secrets/public domain – documentary proof (sales, licences, purchaser details) may be decisive to determine whether information entered the public domain.
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17 November 2017 |
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Reported
Private estate rules imposing speed limits and restricting domestic workers’ access to public roads conflicted with the NRTA and were invalid.
Public roads – estate internal roads held to be public roads – regulation under National Road Traffic Act (NRTA). NRTA (ss56–59; s57(6)) – exclusive statutory control over traffic signs and speed limits; authorisation required for private bodies to display signs or police traffic. Contract vs public law – private contractual rules cannot displace statutory traffic regulation affecting the public. Domestic-employee rules – restrictions on movement, access hours and biometric/access-card regime unreasonably infringe employees’ rights. Relief – conduct rules declared invalid but invalidity suspended for 12 months to permit lawful authorisation; costs awarded.
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17 November 2017 |
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A s 11(d) three-year prescription is computed by the civil rule; Interpretation Act and equitable extension were misapplied.
Prescription – s 11(d) Prescription Act – three-year prescriptive period computed by ordinary civil rule (include first day, exclude last day); Interpretation Act s 4 does not govern computation of s 11(d) where statutory language invokes civil computation; Magistrates lack a free-standing just and equitable power to extend or alter statutory prescription; Pleadings requirement – litigant may not raise unpleaded knowledge-of-wrong argument for first time on appeal.
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3 November 2017 |
| September 2017 |
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Reported
An Equality Court may not dismiss a discrimination complaint on res judicata grounds without hearing relevant new evidence.
Equality Act – Equality courts – Fairness and participation – Presiding officer’s conduct – Res judicata/issue estoppel – New evidence required to be heard – Racial discrimination – Transformation obligations under KwaZulu‑Natal Gaming and Betting Act – Access to justice and evidentiary hearing before dismissal.
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23 September 2017 |
| July 2017 |
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Reported
Business rescue moratorium does not discharge sureties; defendants failed to disclose bona fide defences, summary judgment granted.
Suretyship – Effect of company business rescue on sureties’ liability – s133 Companies Act – business rescue moratorium is a personal privilege of the company and does not protect sureties; Summary judgment – Rule 32 – requirements for bona fide defence; Waiver/indulgence – contractual right to grant extensions and accept payments does not release sureties; Certificate of balance – admissible to reflect post-summons payments; Jurisdiction – consent by surety valid.
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4 July 2017 |
| March 2017 |
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Reported
Mandament van spolie protects servitudinal/quasi‑possessory use rights, not mere contractual access; threats are not spoliation.
Civil procedure – spoliation (mandament van spolie) – protectable quasi‑possession limited to use rights/incidents of possession (eg servitudes), not mere contractual rights to access. Spoliation requires actual unlawful deprivation; threats alone do not constitute spoliation. Sectional title/servitude issues – unregistered servitude or rule‑based rights must be properly established or registered to attract possessory protection.
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13 March 2017 |
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Court refused blanket interdict against unidentified 'other students', discharging the rule nisi for lack of individual allegations.
Civil procedure – interim and final interdicts – requirements (Setlogelo) – clear right, injury committed or reasonably apprehended, absence of ordinary remedy. Interdicts against unnamed persons – unlawful to grant blanket orders against an indistinct class or 'innocent non-participants'. Collective responsibility – courts must not issue orders of general application akin to legislation. Perimeter/interdicts – permissible only when tied to unlawful conduct by identifiable persons. Police duty and alternative remedies – identification, prosecution and security measures as ordinary remedies.
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3 March 2017 |