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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2021 |
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Reported
Court appointed an independent appraiser to determine fair value under section 164; market price is not automatically dispositive.
Companies Act s164 — appraisal remedy; determination of “fair value” not necessarily market price; listed investment holding company valuation — market price vs sum-of-the-parts (SOTP); appointment of independent appraiser; confidentiality protections; standing of non-shareholder applicant.
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3 December 2021 |
| November 2021 |
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Applicants failed to prove lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence; all three wills were upheld and applicants ordered to pay costs.
* Wills and succession – testamentary capacity – assessment by reference to Wills Act s4 and Banks v Goodfellow; weight of contemporaneous clinical notes and expert opinions. * Undue influence – requirement of proof of coercion or improper pressure; close personal relationship alone insufficient. * Revocation – s2A Wills Act and intention to revoke by subsequent document. * Expert evidence – courts must evaluate speculative conclusions and prefer the most readily apparent inference on the probabilities.
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30 November 2021 |
| September 2021 |
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Appointment Regulations valid; Regulation 12(4) permits only two councillor members, optional members must be non-councillors; selection panel appointment set aside.
Local government — Regulations on appointment of senior managers — Validity of 2014 Appointment Regulations despite invalidity of 2011 Amendment Act — Interpretation of Regulation 12(4) — Composition of selection panel for managers directly accountable to municipal managers — Limit on councillor membership — Joinder of selection panel members/Minister not required on these papers — Mootness and discretion to hear matter of public importance.
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21 September 2021 |
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Whether Regulation 12(4) permits more than one councillor on municipal selection panels for senior managers.
Administrative law – Municipal appointments – Validity of national regulations after invalidation of parent statute amendments; statutory interpretation of Regulation 12(4) – composition of selection panels for managers directly accountable to municipal managers – whether optional panel members may be councillors; joinder – necessity to join Minister/affected persons in challenges to executive-made regulations; mootness – discretion to hear cases of public importance.
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21 September 2021 |
| August 2021 |
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Reported
Section 5 PIE is the appropriate urgent remedy for forcible occupation; mandament van spolie inappropriate where PIE protections apply.
* Property law – eviction – distinction between mandament van spolie and section 5 PIE – applicability of constitutionally-aligned urgent eviction remedy; municipal involvement and obligation to consider occupiers' housing needs prior to eviction.
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11 August 2021 |
| July 2021 |
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An admission of wrongfulness in a plea satisfies Rule 34A(4)(a) and can justify interim payments for loss of income.
Civil procedure – Uniform Rule 34A – interim payment for personal injury – written admission of liability for damages means admission of merits, not necessarily quantum; proof of loss of income; discretion to award interim amounts; procedural directions to expedite expert reports and finalisation.
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21 July 2021 |
| June 2021 |
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Review of arbitration award dismissed; award enforced as court order—no bias, illness nondisclosure, or public policy breach established.
Arbitration — review under s 33 Arbitration Act — reasonable apprehension of bias — high threshold; arbitrator illness and nondisclosure not misconduct; arbitration award enforcing a later acknowledgment of debt upheld as a compromise not tainted by prior unlawful credit agreements; section 20 referral discretionary — arbitrator's refusal not reviewable absent gross irregularity; enforcement of arbitration award granted.
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25 June 2021 |
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Application to set aside business rescue meetings and remove practitioners dismissed; final liquidation of a company granted.
Companies Act – business rescue – validity of creditors’ voting interests where cross-suretyships exist; business rescue practitioner duties and disclosure (ss 140,150–153); locus and limits of motions to amend plans; shareholders’ cession of voting rights; commercial insolvency and final winding-up where immovable assets are not readily realisable.
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17 June 2021 |
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Inconsistent and unreliable identification evidence rendered the convictions unsafe, requiring acquittal of the appellants.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – reliability assessed in light of observation time, visibility, prior knowledge, mobility of scene, corroboration and identification parade results.
* Criminal procedure – Appeal – adequacy of trial record for proper consideration despite omission of part of a witness’s evidence.
* Evidence – dock identification by victim has limited weight and cannot alone sustain conviction.
* Burden of proof – where identification evidence is unsafe, reasonable doubt requires acquittal.
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17 June 2021 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove defendant negligent for a slip from a standard step; claim dismissed with costs.
Personal injury — slip and fall — credibility of witnesses — existence and nature of step in front of information window — allegation of slippery flooring — application of Kruger v Coetzee negligence test — plaintiff failed to prove defendant’s breach or causation.
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14 June 2021 |
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Applicant failed to prove wilful and mala fide contempt; application dismissed with costs.
Contempt of court – compliance with judicial order to consider citizenship application – wilful and mala fide non‑compliance required for contempt – committal attracts criminal standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt) – respondent bears evidential burden on wilfulness and mala fides once order, service and non‑compliance proved – availability of review under s25 of the South African Citizenship Act.
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3 June 2021 |
| May 2021 |
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Schedule 6 accused failed to prove exceptional circumstances for bail; magistrate's refusal upheld.
Criminal procedure – Schedule 6 offences – s 60(11)(a) onus to prove exceptional circumstances for bail; affidavit evidence less persuasive than oral testimony subject to cross-examination; generalized COVID-19 prison-risk does not constitute exceptional circumstances absent personal health evidence; appellate interference under s 65(4) only if lower court decision is wrong.
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31 May 2021 |
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Court dismissed the applicant's claim to a 50% shareholding, upholding the current recorded shareholding per the shareholding agreement.
Company law - Shareholding dispute - Application of Plascon-Evans rule in determining final relief on paper - Proper issuance of shares under the Companies Act.
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17 May 2021 |
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Court upholds interim interdict for road usage pending trial on acquisitive prescription and necessity claims.
Property Law – Right of Way – Acquisitive Prescription – Interim Interdict – Interim Protection Orders – Pending Litigation
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12 May 2021 |
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The unlawful impoundment of a vehicle under mandament van spolie is not justified where statutory powers are rightfully exercised.
Civil procedure – urgency – test for urgency in applications deviating from procedural rules – unlawful dispossession – mandament van spolie.
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3 May 2021 |
| April 2021 |
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Non-compliance with NCA's section 129 mandates court to adjourn summary judgment for procedural compliance.
Credit Law – National Credit Act – Section 129 compliance – Postponement of summary judgment for compliance with NCA required.
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12 April 2021 |
| January 2021 |
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After a rejected business-rescue plan, s153’s remedies are alternative; rejected offers leave the original vote standing and termination may follow.
Companies Act — business rescue — ss 152–153 — meaning and operation of s 153(1)(b) (alternative remedies: binding offer v. court application) — s 153(4) adjournment to enable binding offers and effect of rejection — binding offers governed by contract law principles (Kariba) — statutory interpretation (Endumeni).
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21 January 2021 |