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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2024 |
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Reported
Provisional sequestration granted where sheriff’s return showed inability to pay and only negligible movable assets, owner holds unencumbered property.
• Insolvency Act – s8(b) act of insolvency – demand by sheriff, inability to pay and insufficient attachable movables – grounds for provisional sequestration.
• Sequestration – sections 9(1) and 10 – requirement of prima facie advantage to creditors where debtor owns unencumbered immovable property.
• Civil procedure – Rule 7(1) – scope includes deponent authority but not a tool for general documentary fishing; other remedies (CSOS, PAIA, Rule 34) exist.
• Juristic bodies – Board resolutions valid until set aside; disputes about internal governance to be pursued via statutory remedies (CSOS) or direct challenge.
• Service – sheriff’s return prima facie proof (Superior Courts Act s43(2)); defects may be condoned absent prejudice.
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29 October 2024 |
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Final liquidation granted where respondent failed to rebut prima facie indebtedness and was commercially insolvent.
Company law – Liquidation – s 344(f) Companies Act – commercial insolvency (inability to pay debts as they fall due) – prima facie proof by certificates of balance – Badenhorst principle and Plascon‑Evans rule – Rule 41A (mediation notice) voluntary – unsubstantiated insurance defence rejected.
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28 October 2024 |
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Reported
Applicants failed to prove contractual renewal or protectable software interest; restraint and confidentiality relief denied.
Contract law – restraint of trade and confidentiality – scope and duration of written confidentiality agreement; software development agreement – effect of oral extension versus renewal; novation and tacit agreement; protectable interest in software; application for final relief on affidavit – Plascon‑Evans threshold; enforceability of post‑litigation extension clause (clause 10.6).
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28 October 2024 |
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Second defendant solely liable; plaintiff had locus standi; first defendant not liable; expert evidence preferred.
Road traffic — Intersection collision — Signalised intersection where turning arrow changed — Constructive delivery/locus standi — Expert accident reconstruction accepted — Speed calculations and point of impact — Duty to yield to vehicles trapped in intersection — Sole negligence of oncoming driver — No contributory negligence by turning driver; costs against unsuccessful defendant.
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24 October 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction for dolus eventualis and confirmed 15-year minimum sentence, dismissing self-defence claim.
Criminal law – Murder – dolus eventualis – subjective foresight required to establish dolus eventualis. Criminal procedure – assessment of credibility – evaluation of single eyewitness and accused’s inconsistent account. Private defence – requirements and rejection where deceased posed no threat. Sentencing – prescribed minimum sentences – substantial and compelling circumstances required to justify departure; appellate restraint unless misdirection or gross disproportionality.
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24 October 2024 |
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Provisional sequestration of a trust granted where liquidated claims and factual insolvency were established on a prima facie basis.
Insolvency — provisional sequestration of a trust — liquidated claim against trust (loan accounts and taxed costs) — trust sequestrable by naming trustees — balance of probabilities test in opposed provisional sequestration — adequacy of answering affidavit — benefit to creditors — sham/alter‑ego issue reserved.
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22 October 2024 |
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Reported
Security for costs against an incola liquidator refused absent vexatious, reckless, or abusive proceedings.
Security for costs – incola claimant – Boost Sports test: security only where main action is vexatious, reckless or an abuse; impecuniosity alone insufficient – Rule 10(3) joinder of actions distinct from joinder of parties under s21(2) Superior Courts Act – section 29 Insolvency Act claim may, in appropriate cases, proceed on motion – procedural/jurisdictional defects remediable, not necessarily abusive.
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21 October 2024 |
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A guarantor’s waiver of excussion and a principal debtor’s liquidation do not justify staying claims against the guarantor.
Stay of proceedings – inherent discretion (s.173) – liquidation of principal debtor does not bar claims against guarantor/surety – waiver of benefit of excussion prevents delaying judgment – loss of guarantor’s income from liquidation not sufficient ground for stay.
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18 October 2024 |
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Accused failed to show exceptional circumstances for Schedule 6 bail; electronic-tracking evidence, credibility deficits and flight/interference risks warranted detention.
Criminal procedure – Bail for Schedule 6 offences – accused bears onus to prove exceptional circumstances (s 60(11)(a)) – assessment of exceptional circumstances requires holistic value judgment – probative weight of electronic-tracking data (pings, consumer traces, time-distance calculations) – credibility and inconsistent versions – risk of witness interference, evidence destruction and flight – bail refused.
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17 October 2024 |
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Court ruled that legitimate expectations from a 2016 settlement upheld provisional registration and study visa consideration.
Education Law - Registration and recognition of education providers - Immigration law - Study visas - Legitimate expectation and settlement agreements
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16 October 2024 |
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Reported
A Rule 45A application cannot be used to undo or evade a prior court order or re-litigate substantive findings.
Court procedure – Rule 45A and inherent powers (s173) – limits on suspending execution of prior orders; cannot be used as a stealth appeal; respect for final judgments and stare decisis; suspension only where real and substantial injustice or impossibility shown. Franchise law – enforcement of interim relief compelling compliance with franchise agreements pending arbitration. Administrative/regulatory overlap – lawfulness of SSB (pawn) transactions not a basis for procedural suspension absent proper findings in appropriate proceedings.
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16 October 2024 |
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Appeal against rape conviction and 10-year sentence dismissed; credibility and sentencing jurisdiction upheld.
Criminal law – sexual offences – rape – single child complainant evidence; corroboration by family witness; medical evidence of recent penetration; consent and sobriety issues; sentencing – mispleading of CLAA provision; jurisdiction and minimum prescribed sentence (s 51(2)(b) Part III Schedule 2) – no prejudice, 10-year minimum upheld.
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16 October 2024 |
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Interim interdict extended where sale appeared not to have been by the "open market" required by the divorce consent order.
Interim interdict — preservation of status quo pending final relief; interpretation of consent (divorce) order — scope of sheriff’s authority to sign sale/transfer documents; requirement that property be placed on "open market" — meaning and "proper marketing"; disputes of fact on interim relief — approach to prima facie rights and inherent probabilities; costs — allocation of wasted costs and costs of interim application.
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16 October 2024 |
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Appeal against sentence upheld to correct concurrency error; court affirms that sentences were appropriate given serious violent offending.
Criminal law – sentence appeal – application of Malgas principle – appellate restraint; Criminal Law Amendment Act s 51(2) – prescribed minimum sentences and alleged increase – right to address; Sentencing – aggravating factors (weapons, stabbing, kidnapping) outweigh personal circumstances; Clerical/wording error in sentencing order – correction by appellate court.
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15 October 2024 |
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Contempt for non‑payment of court‑ordered maintenance upheld; suspended committal ordered until arrears and obligations are met.
Family law; contempt of court — failure to comply with interlocutory maintenance order; variation of interlocutory orders — requirement that variation be sought in same court/judge and that contemnor purge contempt before seeking variation; urgency and burden‑shift in contempt proceedings; suspended committal as conditional sanction.
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14 October 2024 |
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Whether trustee nominations require collective trustee action and whether a protector’s consent is required for trust amendments.
Trusts – interpretation of trust deed – clause 4(b) nomination and appointment of replacement trustees – joint action requirement – individual trustee cannot unilaterally nominate successor; clause 33(a) amendment of trust deed during donor’s lifetime – donor-and-trustees or protector-and-trustees model; protector’s role requires notification; validity of amendment where approved by donor and trustees; trustee authority evidenced by Master’s certificate; costs awarded against applicant.
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10 October 2024 |
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Applicants' review succeeded: municipal approvals set aside for failing to obtain neighbours' consent and consider a prohibition on permanent structures.
Administrative law — judicial review under PAJA — Rule 53 compliance on record of decision; constitutional standing (s 38) to review municipal administrative action; lease terms and municipal resolution as material/mandatory conditions — written consent of immediate neighbours as jurisdictional prerequisite; municipality's duty to consider whether improvements are permanent contrary to resolution; section 7(1)(b) Building Act — burden to show probable derogation of neighbouring property value; remedy — review and remittal, not demolition; costs awarded to applicants.
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9 October 2024 |
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Rescission of a default POCA forfeiture order refused for inadequate explanation and weak prima facie defences.
POCA Chapter 6 — s48 preservation orders and s53(3) rescission of default forfeiture orders; applicability of Uniform Rules principles to s53(4). Rescission test — explanation for default, bona fides, and bona fide defence (prima facie prospects). Ex parte preservation orders — duty of disclosure; material non-disclosure assessed by whether it would have influenced the court. Lis alibi pendens — requirements (same parties, cause of action, relief) and limited application where reliefs/statutory mandates differ. Client reliance on attorney negligence — may not absolve litigant where papers and warnings were served and accessible.
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9 October 2024 |
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Parol evidence cannot add terms to a written sublease; termination of the headlease ended the sublease and justified eviction.
Property law – lease and sublease – parol evidence rule (integration) excludes prior oral agreement that would vary written sublease; sublessee’s rights terminate on termination of headlease; clause permitting unilateral cancellation by notice upheld; owner not bound to sublessee by mere consent to subletting; eviction granted.
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8 October 2024 |
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Provisional sequestration granted where undisputed surety claims and property valuation support prima facie factual insolvency and advantage to creditors.
Insolvency — Sequestration — Section 9 and 10 Insolvency Act — Prima facie factual insolvency may be inferred from undisputed liquidated claims and property valuation; paucity of respondent's evidence fails to rebut inference — Advantage to creditors satisfied where additional surety liabilities and company liquidation likely increase claims — Provisional sequestration and rule nisi appropriate.
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8 October 2024 |
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Ministerial refusal of permanent residence exemption set aside for failing to consider the disabled child’s best interests.
Immigration — ministerial exemptions under s31(2)(b) — discretion subject to legality and PAJA; Administrative law — duty to consider relevant factors, reasons for decision and review for failure to consider material considerations; Children’s rights — paramountcy of best interests (s28 Constitution) and Children’s Act obligations in administrative decisions; Medical treatment visas (short-term) not equivalent to permanent residence but references to them not per se reviewable error; Substitution vs remittal — separation of powers and public purse considerations.
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7 October 2024 |
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An implied contractual term terminates hospital admission privileges upon suspension from professional registration; no PAJA review arose.
Contract – implied term by law – admission-privileges agreement – implication that privileges terminate when practitioner not entitled to practise (including suspension). Health Professions Act – suspension and deemed cancellation of registration – consequence for hospital admission privileges. Administrative law – PAJA – whether private hospital decision to decline reinstatement is administrative action – held not to be administrative action. Interim relief – requirement of prima facie right where privileges terminated by operation of law.
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7 October 2024 |
