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Citation
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Judgment date
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| September 2024 |
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Court held execution to frustrate appeal rights unlawful and reinstated applicant pending filing of SCA petition.
Civil procedure – Suspension of execution under Superior Courts Act s 18 – s 18(5) requires lodging with registrar to suspend operation of decision. Abuse of process – expedited execution to thwart appeal rights may be unlawful and subject to court redress. Interim relief – Rule 45A and inherent powers permit suspension of execution and restoration of status quo ante pending lodging of appeal petition. Costs – punitive costs appropriate where respondent engineered a fait accompli to frustrate appeal rights.
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30 September 2024 |
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Reported
High Court interdicted an impeached former judge from participating in JSC processes pending review of his parliamentary designation.
Constitutional & administrative law – National Assembly’s designation to the Judicial Service Commission – scope of High Court jurisdiction versus exclusive Constitutional Court jurisdiction under s167(4)(e) – reviewability under PAJA/legality – exercise of constitutional discretion in s178(1)(h) – compatibility with s165(4) protecting judicial independence – interim interdicts to preserve integrity of JSC processes.
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27 September 2024 |
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Reported
Executor removed for conflicts of interest, partiality and conduct prejudicial to estate; foreign‑litigation costs excluded from estate recovery.
Administration of Estates — Removal of Executor — s54(1)(a)(v) — conflict of interest and partiality where executor is also beneficiary and has engaged in conduct advantaging certain heirs — duties and fiduciary obligations of executor — intervention in foreign litigation and estate costs — failure to lodge liquidation and distribution account timeously — surviving spouse (married in community of property) has standing to seek removal.
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26 September 2024 |
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Court grants plaintiff leave to amend, permits joinder by motion, and orders costs against opposing defendants.
Civil procedure – amendment of pleadings – substantial substitution of particulars – objections as to jurisdiction, prescription and pleading foreign law are triable issues and do not justify refusal of amendment at pleading stage. Joinder – edictal citation for offshore defendants – application acceptable where not opposed but intendit should be updated. Foreign law – not required to be pleaded in detail in particulars; establishable by expert evidence at trial. Piercing corporate veil – sufficient particularity pleaded to raise triable issue. Costs – unsuccessful opposition to amendment and edictal citation ordered party-and-party costs including two counsel, not punitive.
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25 September 2024 |
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Reported
Court confirmed lawful termination of debt review, rejected good‑faith and reckless‑credit defences, and ordered return of the financed taxi.
National Credit Act — debt review (s86) — obligation to participate in good faith (s86(5)) and credit provider’s right to terminate after 60 business days (s86(10)); resumption of debt review (s86(11)) — evidentiary threshold and competence; reckless credit (s80/81) — onus on consumer to particularise contemporaneous facts; remedies under s83 — suspension, setting aside or restructuring limited where agreement validly cancelled; repossession rights on cancellation of instalment-sale agreement.
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25 September 2024 |
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Condonation for late statutory notice dismissed: unexplained delays and weak merits precluded good cause.
Delict — statutory notice under Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act — condonation: requirements of s 3(4)(b) — good cause assessed by explanation for delay and prospects of success; delay in instituting/pursuing condonation relevant; unreasonable delay entails prejudice.
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25 September 2024 |
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Plaintiff proved oral nominee agreements; court ordered repayment, sale of property and awarded costs against defaulting defendant.
Property law – nominee/agency arrangement – oral/tacit agreement enforceable where not effecting immediate alienation; Alienation of Land Act s2(1) strictly construed – does not invalidate nominee arrangements contemplating future sales; Tacit terms – assessed by conduct, correspondence and surrounding circumstances, standard: balance of probabilities; Admissibility and weight of affidavits of deceased by agreement – permissible where fair and corroborated; Civil procedure – trial in absence of defendant – justified where litigant wilfully delays, fails to obtain representation and furnishes insufficient medical evidence; Costs – attorney and client where conduct is vexatious and causes unnecessary expense.
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23 September 2024 |
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Plaintiff's claim against the doctor prescribed because he had knowledge of the material facts by 20 June 2017.
Prescription Act s12(3) – commencement of prescription requires knowledge of debtor’s identity and material facts (facta probanda); employment status of practitioner is not a material fact postponing prescription; onus on defendant to prove date of knowledge; discovery by correspondence or subsequent diagnosis that only yields legal conclusions does not reset prescription; attorney-and-client costs awarded to successful defendant.
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23 September 2024 |
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Respondents held in contempt for failing to hand over body corporate documents; fines, suspended imprisonment and costs ordered.
Contempt of court – failure by managing agent to hand over body corporate documents following registered CSOS adjudication – authority and locus standi of attorneys – single-stage civil contempt procedure and Rule nisi – mitigation (mental health) considered but sanction required to vindicate court authority; judicial fine, suspended periodic committal and costs ordered.
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23 September 2024 |
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Applicant entitled to interim RAF payments; plea admission established statutory liability and RAF’s subrogation directive rejected.
Procedure — Uniform Rule 34A — interim payment — requirements and judicial discretion to grant interim awards where liability admitted in plea. Road Accident Fund — statutory liability under s17 — concession of insured driver’s negligence in plea constitutes admission of liability for interim relief. Medical expenses — Medical Schemes Act and subrogation — RAF’s internal directive cannot lawfully avoid payment of collateral medical benefits; precedent requires RAF to reimburse appropriate past medical expenses. WCC award — obligation to furnish full calculations to permit like-for-like set-off; WCC award does not automatically bar interim payments.
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23 September 2024 |
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Exception upheld where plaintiff failed to plead legal duty, wrongfulness and adequate particulars of pure economic loss.
Exception – no cause of action; Pure economic loss – delict; Wrongfulness/duty – must be pleaded and defined where not self-evident; Causation and quantum – Rule 18(10) requires sufficient particulars; Leave to amend granted.
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20 September 2024 |
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A restraint of trade clause was enforced despite a drafting omission, with rectification allowed and a focused client list for fairness.
Restraint of trade – Interpretation and rectification of contract – Enforceability of restraint clause despite drafting omission – Non-solicitation of clients – Confidential information – Reasonableness of restraint – Amendment of citation – Costs on attorney and client scale.
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19 September 2024 |
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Reported
Non-variation clause upheld; handwritten amendment ineffective; public policy and fraud defences fail; all claims dismissed.
Contract law – non-variation clause – handwritten amendment ineffective where not signed per clause; Cession – locus standi of cessionary established; Public policy – sparing application, onus on party alleging non‑compliance; Fraud/Grusd – fraud must be pleaded and proved, intent/knowledge required; Unjust enrichment – failed where payment by cessionary exceeded alleged overpayment; Warranties/indemnities – cover the ceded contract (unamended) and no breach proved.
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18 September 2024 |
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Handwritten, unsigned amendments fail non-variation clauses; cessionary’s warranty/indemnity claims based on the unamended contract fail.
Contract law – non-variation clause – handwritten amendment unsigned by lessor ineffective and unenforceable. Cession – locus standi to sue under valid cession; warranties/indemnities relate to the Contract as ceded. Public policy – non-variation clauses enforced except in clearest cases; absence of explanation for non-compliance fatal. Fraud/Grusd – fraud must be pleaded and proved; allowing benefit does not dispense with intent requirement. Enrichment – claimant not impoverished where cessionary paid greater sum to prior supplier than alleged overpayment.
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18 September 2024 |
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A pre-emptive right is triggered by receipt of an offer; the holder must step into the third party's terms and cannot vary the sale.
Pre-emptive rights – trigger point is receipt of a third-party offer; exercise requires stepping into third party's position on same terms; holder cannot vary or cherry-pick sale terms; usufruct precedes registered owner's pre-emptive right for leases; conditional consent does not constitute irrevocable waiver of usufruct.
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18 September 2024 |
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Marital co-ownership of the family home can be 'bound' by marriage and its division deferred until divorce resolution.
Property law – Actio communi dividundo – availability where co-ownership arises from marriage out of community with accrual; distinction between free and bound co-ownership. Matrimonial/property law – marital home acquired during marriage constitutes bound co-ownership if it arises from the extrinsic matrimonial relationship. Equitable discretion – when physical partition impracticable, court may order sale, award property to one owner with compensation, or other modes; must consider market value, equity, accrual, and maintenance. Procedural – termination of co-ownership and ancillary accounts appropriately determined concurrently with divorce/patrimonial claims where issues are interdependent.
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16 September 2024 |
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Applicant obtains final winding‑up; respondent found unable to pay debts and member referred for perjury investigation.
• Company/Close corporation law – winding‑up – where creditor holds admitted, due and payable debt – final winding‑up order appropriate.
• Insolvency – commercial insolvency test preferred to contested unproven asset valuations.
• Civil procedure – bona fide dispute defence – narrow discretion to refuse winding‑up where debt is admitted and dispute unsubstantiated.
• Costs – costs in the liquidation; attorney‑and‑client scale where opposition is vexatious and dishonest.
• Perjury – referral to DPP where respondent’s member made false sworn statements.
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13 September 2024 |
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Whether deportation of asylum‑seekers can be interdicted pending merits determinations given non‑refoulement and separation‑of‑powers.
Refugee law – non‑refoulement – interim interdict against deportation pending merits determination; suspension of statutory provisions – heightened test (OUTA/EFF) and separation of powers; persuasive effect of Constitutional Court in Ashebo; case management and costs in cause.
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13 September 2024 |
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Municipality not liable for plaintiff’s fall on a walkway serving a private centre; plaintiff failed to prove wrongfulness, negligence or causation.
Delict – municipality liability for omissions; legal duty and wrongfulness assessed against public policy; private encroachment onto municipal land; NBRSA s 23—limits of statutory indemnity for positive acts vs omissions; onus to prove causation and negligence.
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12 September 2024 |
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Appeal upheld: convictions for theft and perjury overturned due to inadequate evidence and trial misdirections.
Criminal law – Theft and perjury – sufficiency of evidence – State failed to prove theft as charged; conviction unsafe. Evidence – failure to call witnesses able to explain final statement of account; failure to consider crucial invoice (Exhibit V) and SIU investigator’s concessions. Procedural – duplication of charges where multiple counts arise from same narrow set of facts. Section 174 – discharge where State has not established a prima facie case. Judicial review on appeal – appellate intervention warranted for material misdirections in credibility and fact-finding.
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12 September 2024 |
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Reported
The respondent liable where open train doors led to the applicant being pushed from a moving train.
Public carrier duty – obligation to keep carriage doors closed while trains in motion – delictual liability for omission. Evidence and probabilities – corroboration by ambulance and hospital records supports applicant's version despite absence of respondent's incident reports. Causation – established by but-for (conditio sine qua non) test linking open doors to ejection and injury. Contributory negligence – not established where applicant did not voluntarily assume or appreciate the risk sufficiently to reduce liability.
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10 September 2024 |
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A court-appointed receiver owes fiduciary transparency and must disclose bank statements and documents used to calculate trust distributions.
Trusts — Receivership — Receiver’s fiduciary duties to beneficiaries; obligation to account fully and disclose supporting documents used in liquidation and distribution account; breach of s10(1) Trust Property Control Act by commingling trust funds; production of bank statements and interest-calculation schedules; extension of dissolution date and procedural timetable; costs awarded against receiver.
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10 September 2024 |
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A non-responsive tenderer has standing but failed to show grounds for an interim interdict halting the tender award.
Administrative law – tenders – standing of non‑responsive tenderer to challenge award; Interim interdict – requirements (prima facie right, irreparable harm, balance of convenience) – ineffectiveness of review and entrenchment arguments; Contract vs administrative action – termination notice; Separation of powers – court should not select contracting party to continue performance; Costs – Biowatch protection in constitutional/administrative challenges.
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10 September 2024 |
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A damages claim for fraudulent misrepresentation arising from a consent divorce order is not automatically barred by res judicata.
Civil procedure – exception – res judicata – consent settlement made an order of court – distinguishability of relief and cause of action; Delict/contract – fraudulent misrepresentation – accounting and debatement to quantify damages; Fraud vitiates transactions; Pleading sufficiency for damages claim arising from alleged fraud.
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9 September 2024 |
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CSOS may adjudicate building‑penalty disputes; penalties invalid where imposed without fair notice or opportunity to be heard.
Community Schemes Ombud Service Act — jurisdiction to adjudicate building/contractual penalties; distinction between ‘void’ and ‘invalid’ decisions (s41); section 39(1) financial issues includes penalties; procedural fairness before levying building penalties (notice and opportunity to remedy/represent); CSOS jurisdiction upheld by case law (Chapman's Bay; Stone River).
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6 September 2024 |
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Appeal against convictions and life sentences for rape of a minor dismissed; trial court’s credibility and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Evidence of single child witness and cautionary approach; credibility and evaluation of inconsistencies and delayed reporting; appellate interference with trial credibility findings (S v Francis); sentencing – prescribed minimum life sentences for rape of a minor and assessment of substantial and compelling circumstances (Malgas/Zinn).
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6 September 2024 |
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Reported
Whether plaintiff’s diminished earning capacity from police assault warranted an actuarial award and quantum.
Delict — future loss of earning capacity — expert evidence (industrial psychologists, psychologist) — actuarial computation — choice of earnings basis (corporate surveys v STATSSA) — contingencies and contingency differential — mitigation and credibility.
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6 September 2024 |
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Summary judgment refused where application was procedurally late and the claimed amount was not a readily ascertainable liquidated sum.
Summary judgment — strict compliance with rule 32(2) — timely delivery and set-down — liquidated amount — claim not liquidated where ledger contains unexplained opening balance and untaxed legal fees — suretyship liability — effect of sublease and alleged prejudice to sureties.
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6 September 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: convictions and life sentences for gang rape of an intellectually disabled minor upheld; J88 admitted and expert evidence accepted.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape of a minor with intellectual disability – competence and credibility of a vulnerable complainant; intermediary testimony. Evidence – Hearsay and medico-legal J88 report – provisional admission, expert interpretation and probative value. Identification – proof beyond reasonable doubt and rejection of accused’s alibi as not reasonably possibly true. Sentence – application of prescribed minimum (life) where rape committed by multiple offenders on a mentally disabled minor; no substantial and compelling circumstances. Court administration – duty to ensure functioning audio equipment for intermediary evidence; referral to professional regulator for allegedly deficient medical examination.
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5 September 2024 |
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Late leave to appeal against final sequestration refused for inordinate delay and inadequate explanation.
Civil procedure — Condonation for late filing of leave to appeal — test: extent and cause of delay, reasonableness of explanation, prejudice, prospects of success. Insolvency — sequestration — final sequestration order: appeal lodged late; trustees appointed and estate realisation advanced. Rule 46A — allegation that sequestration was used to circumvent Rule 46A rejected as previously considered. Constitutional right to housing (s26) — raised but did not justify condonation or prospect of success. Costs — costs awarded to applicant from insolvent estate, including two counsel on specified scales.
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5 September 2024 |
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Applicant failed to prove incapacity or duress to rescind consent order; application dismissed with adverse costs.
Family law — rescission of consent order — application to set aside parental-responsibility and adoption clauses — onus to prove lack of capacity or duress — relevance of contemporaneous evidence and advice — motion proceedings and referral to oral evidence — exercise of discretion in awarding attorney-and-client and party-and-party costs.
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4 September 2024 |
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Reported
Criminal court lacked jurisdiction to order mayor to establish trust; appellate court set aside sentencing orders as nullities.
Criminal law — Sentencing powers — Limits on a criminal court’s jurisdiction to make orders affecting non-parties and organs of state; administrative/municipal powers — orders compelling a mayor to establish a trust may be ultra vires and conflict with MFMA; Constitutional law — separation of powers, principle of legality and inherent powers (s173) limited to developing common law where necessary; Children’s rights — s28(2) (best interests of the child) only applies where proceedings are a matter concerning the child; Procedural fairness — necessity to join or notify affected parties (audi alteram partem).
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3 September 2024 |
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Rescission refused: personal service upheld and costs de bonis propriis awarded against the applicant’s attorney.
Rescission of judgment – Rule 42(1)(a) – requirement of absence and material procedural error; sheriff’s return prima facie evidence of personal service; National Credit Act s86(10) – valid termination of debt review; wilful default vs excusable absence; costs de bonis propriis – personal liability of attorney (attorney-and-client scale).
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3 September 2024 |
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VAB’s valuation of a life-right retirement village was irrationally calculated and must be set aside and reheard by a differently constituted board.
Property rates valuation – life-right retirement scheme – requirement to apply generally recognised valuation methodologies (s45 Rates Act) – failure to account for contractual repayment obligations and levies – occupancy and waiting-list relevance – VAB decision irrational and reviewable under PAJA.
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3 September 2024 |
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A magistrate erred by holding the Administration of Estates Act ousted creditors’ common-law right to sue a deceased estate.
Administration of Estates Act – effect on creditors’ common-law rights; jurisdiction of magistrate’s court to entertain claims against deceased estates; default judgment; misdirection in law by lower court.
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2 September 2024 |
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Applicant sought vehicle release after BEC; court found likely email compromise but dismissed the application as inappropriate.
Cybercrime / Business Email Compromise (BEC) — email authentication (SPF/DMARC/ARC), altered attachments and attribution of compromise Interim and mandatory interdicts — requirements for final interdictory relief; substance over form; appropriateness where ownership/liability disputed Vindicatory relief (rei vindicatio) — ownership vs possession in financed sale; financier’s rights and suitability for motion proceedings Evidentiary issues — admissibility and weight of forensic expert affidavit evidence in motion proceedings; need for further procedural steps (cross-examination/case management) Contractual retention clauses — distinction between ownership retention and right to deliver/transfer possession
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2 September 2024 |
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Whether CSOS adjudicators have jurisdiction to review reasonableness of body corporate meeting decisions under s38/39 or s6(9) STSMA.
Community Schemes Ombud Service Act — jurisdiction of Ombud and Adjudicators under ss 38–39; Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act s 6(9) — recourse to Ombud but does not oust CSOS procedures; review standard — application of reasonableness in body corporate decision-making; remedy — remittal to Ombud Service for merits and costs.
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2 September 2024 |
