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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 2009 |
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Spoliation remedy available despite land gazettement; offer letter cannot supersede statutory eviction procedures.
Spoliation — locus standi — possession vs ownership; Gazetted Lands (Consequential Provisions) Act s3(1), s3(5) — offer letter insufficient to effect eviction; requirement of conviction and magistrate eviction order; restoration of status quo ante
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25 February 2009 |
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Applicant established wrongful retention under the Hague Convention; child ordered returned to applicant pending custody determination.
Hague Convention (Child Abduction) – Article 3 wrongful retention – habitual residence – parental responsibility under foreign law – proof/authentication of foreign statute – Article 13 defences (consent/acquiescence, grave risk) – Article 29 direct applications
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25 February 2009 |
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Whether the defendant can be held in delict for pure economic loss from alleged incorrect tariff classification and appeal.
Delict – Aquilian action – pure economic loss – necessity to plead and prove culpa (negligence/dolus) and wrongfulness – legal duty to prevent economic loss – public revenue authority liability for tariff misclassification
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24 February 2009 |
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Court found liability admitted but dismissed claim for inflation‑revalued damages, applying currency nominalism.
Delict — motor vehicle accident — liability admitted — volenti non fit injuria — currency nominalism in assessment of patrimonial damages — refusal to award inflation‑adjusted/revalued quantum — prior payments and settlement issues
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24 February 2009 |
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An RTGS/ZETSS instruction specifying a future value date effects payment on that date, not on the instruction date.
Sale of immovable property – payment by electronic transfer (ZETSS/RTGS) – effect of instruction date versus nominated value date – contractual deadline for payment – provisional interdict/confirmation
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24 February 2009 |
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Review dismissed: remand order not vitiated by gross irregularity; abduction/torture inquiries properly left to ordered investigation.
Criminal procedure – remand – review for gross irregularity under s 27 High Court Act – reasonable suspicion test for remand – court-ordered investigation into alleged abduction/torture – distinction from foreign abduction cases (S v Ibrahim) – symptomatic unreasonableness required for review.
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24 February 2009 |
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An unregistered customary union does not confer surviving-spouse status or locus to challenge a valid estate transfer.
Succession law – unregistered customary-law union does not confer surviving-spouse status under Administration of Estates Amendment Act No.6/1997 – locus standi to challenge estate administration – certificate of authority and transfer by beneficiary – executor discharged on completion – provisional order discharged
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19 February 2009 |
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Executor removed where appointment under summary administration was unlawful because estate exceeded statutory small-estate threshold.
Administration of Estates Act s117, s32(1) – removal of executor – unlawful summary appointment where estate exceeds prescribed small-estate threshold – citation of executor (official v personal capacity) – appearance of impartiality in Master’s representation
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18 February 2009 |
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Whether a purchaser who paid in full and took possession is entitled to specific performance against a collusive second buyer.
Property law – double sale – specific performance – innocent third party – knowledge and connivance – possession and payment – cancellation of cession – municipal transfer
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17 February 2009 |
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Whether extrinsic evidence can prove a condition precedent and whether material factual disputes require trial rather than motion proceedings.
Parol evidence rule — integration — admissibility of extrinsic evidence to prove condition precedent; acknowledgement of debt as conduct altering written contract; conflicts of fact in motion proceedings requiring viva voce evidence
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14 February 2009 |
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Court condoned respondent’s late filing but condemned oral excuses and ordered costs against the respondent.
Civil procedure – condonation of late filing of heads – oral testimony from counsel at the bar inadmissible – factual material must be by affidavit – Attorney‑General’s Office bound to court rules – discretion to grant condonation where merits and finality favour hearing
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11 February 2009 |
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A school may withhold examination results to enforce contractually agreed unpaid fees; an order against the chairman personally was defective.
Education law – enforcement of school fees – withholding public examination results; Contract law – parental consent to school rules and entry form clause; Payment law – dishonoured cheque not payment; Civil procedure – incompetence of order against chairman personally; Ex turpi causa considered.
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10 February 2009 |
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Self-created urgency and completed execution precluded a stay; rescission prospects were insufficient, application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Urgent chamber application; self-created urgency; stay of execution; effect of completed execution (transfer) on stay applications; rescission of judgment; validity of notice of set-down (order 31 r 215); allegations of unethical conduct between counsel.
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5 February 2009 |
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Sale by a non-authorised person based on forged documents is void; executor appointment and distribution account invalid, children entitled to shares.
Deceased estates — validity of private sale — forgery of sale agreements — invalid appointment of executor by misrepresentation — distribution account set aside — minor children entitled to estate shares
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4 February 2009 |
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Plaintiff's claim for transfer dismissed as prescribed; an earlier unsuccessful application did not interrupt prescription.
Prescription – cause of action arises when agreement concluded – Prescription Act s19(2)-(3): service of process interrupts prescription only if claim is successfully prosecuted or debtor acknowledges liability – unsuccessful prior application does not arrest prescription – absolution from the instance where no prima facie, non-prescribed claim
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3 February 2009 |
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A former occupier of gazetted land may seek spoliation relief, but cannot obtain an interdict once statutory occupation rights have been extinguished.
Mandament van spolie — locus standi of former occupier of gazetted land; Gazetted Lands (Consequential Provisions) Act — statutory extinguishment of occupation rights; interim interdict — requires existing legal right; domestic court jurisdiction vis-à-vis SADC Tribunal
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3 February 2009 |
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Plaintiff failed to prove an oral pre-purchase fuel contract; defendant absolved and awarded costs.
Contract formation — oral reserve-fuel arrangement — consensus ad idem — burden of proof in contractual disputes — deposits v pre-purchase ownership of fuel.
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3 February 2009 |
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Bail applications are premature unless an initial arraignment/remand process establishing legal justification has occurred.
Criminal procedure — Bail pending trial — Meaning of "appeared in court on a charge" — Arraignment required before bail application; remand lawfulness (reasonable suspicion) must be established first.
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3 February 2009 |
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An accused may only apply for bail after a formal initial remand appearance where the charge is formally put.
Bail pending trial – requirement of initial appearance on a charge – meaning of "appeared in court on a charge" under ss 116 & 117 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act – initial remand as prerequisite to bail application – right to liberty and s 13 constitutional considerations.
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3 February 2009 |
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Whether a subsequent compromise on returning and revaluing a company car displaced prior contractual ownership rights and whether alleged duress vitiated that compromise.
Contract law — employer motor-vehicle scheme and loan agreement; compromise/settlement displacing prior contractual rights; duress allegation rejected; effect of subsequent agreement on ownership/registration.
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3 February 2009 |
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A rescission application that grossly departs from mandatory court forms and seeks no condonation may be struck off with attorney‑client costs.
Civil procedure — compliance with Rules of Court — mandatory use of Form 29/29B for court/chamber applications — substantial departure may be incurable — Rule 4C condonation limited — failure to seek condonation after notice may justify striking off — costs on attorney‑client scale.
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3 February 2009 |