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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2022 |
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Cancellation of a contract does not extinguish accrued obligations; contractual costs, collection commission and interest are enforceable.
Contract cancellation — Rights accrued before cancellation remain enforceable; Magistrates' Court jurisdiction by contractual consent; specific performance permissible as plaintiff's election; contractual attorney-client costs, collection commission and interest recoverable where agreed.
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16 November 2022 |
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Whether an employee acquired a contractual right of retention to an employer’s vehicle under clause 6(b), with tax deductions indicating accrual from 2015.
Rei vindicatio — employment contract — contractual right of retention to employer’s vehicle — interpretation of clause granting purchase at residual value — tacit acceptance evidenced by vehicle benefit tax deductions — costs ordinary scale.
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16 November 2022 |
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Whether civil proceedings for recovery of seized goods are time‑barred under s193(12) or governed by s196’s eight‑month limit.
Customs and Excise Act — prescription of claims — interplay of s 193(12) and s 196; State Liabilities Act — validity/substantial compliance of notice; owner’s liability — requirement to prove knowledge or authorization for unlawful use; registration evidence and contested ownership.
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16 November 2022 |
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15 November 2022 |
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Appellate court allowed bail, finding the magistrate misapplied the significance of investigative delays as changed circumstances.
Criminal law – Bail pending trial – Changed circumstances – effluxion of time and investigatory delay – appellate review confined to the record – discretionary misdirection – co-accused’s subsequent bail not admissible on appeal.
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15 November 2022 |
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Accused acquitted: stabbing held reasonable self-defence where attacker pinned, bit, threatened and disarmed her.
Criminal law – self-defence – requirements of s 253 – unlawful attack, necessity, inability to escape, proportionality; duty to escape not absolute.
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14 November 2022 |
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14 November 2022 |
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Landlord, not defendants, repossessed and disposed of plaintiff's equipment; defendants not liable and damages unproven.
Delict — vicarious liability — imputation to company — course and scope of employment; Non-joinder of landlord — repossession/ disposal; Proof of quantum — inadequate valuation and evidence of sale proceeds
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11 November 2022 |
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The accused acquitted of murder due to proven involuntary (sane automatism); prosecution failed to disprove beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Automatism (s 216) – distinction between sane and insane automatism – evidential and persuasive burdens – mental disorder defence (s 227) – s 28 (fitness to stand trial) v s 29 (mental state at time of offence) – acquittal where conduct involuntary.
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11 November 2022 |
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Applicant not exempt from development fees; declaratory relief inappropriate and application dismissed with costs.
Declaratory relief – appropriateness of declaratory orders – Tripartite public-private agreement – developer’s right to recover development costs – Government commonage 20% exemption – title issuance contingent on development cost payment
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10 November 2022 |
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Applicant’s claim for transfer was dismissed because it failed to place the seller in mora as contractually required.
Contract — Specific performance — Conditions precedent and notice to remedy (mora) — Failure to comply with contractual notice requirement renders cause of action incomplete — Cancellation and service of notice issues not determined as matter disposed on non-compliance — Costs follow event.
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10 November 2022 |
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Owner proved title and unlawful possession; bare denials and community assertions failed to defeat eviction and costs were awarded.
Eviction – Actio rei vindicatio – Owner must prove ownership and possession by another; burden shifts to possessor to prove right to retention
Civil procedure – Motion proceedings – Bona fide dispute of fact on affidavit; bare denials insufficient to require viva voce evidence
Property law – Claims of community ownership require probative proof; former membership does not confer retention rights
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9 November 2022 |
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Default judgment set aside where attorney handover caused non-attendance and applicant showed bona fide defence with prospects of success.
Civil procedure — Rescission of default judgment — Good and sufficient cause — Reasonableness of explanation and bona fides — Attorney handover and negligent non-attendance — Defence not hopeless where employee fraud alleged — Companies and Other Business Entities Act s 24 (presumption of regularity/estoppel) subject to actual or constructive knowledge
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9 November 2022 |
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Whether the JSC's resolution (Annexure A) validly authorised its Secretary to institute proceedings and depose to affidavits.
Administrative law; representation of statutory bodies – validity of JSC resolution ("Annexure A") authorising Secretary to represent JSC; precedent bindingness – Supreme Court and Constitutional Court affirmations; requirement for proof of authority when challenged; recusal and conflict of interest allegations; distinction between statutory officers and corporate representatives
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9 November 2022 |
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Summary judgment granted on an acknowledged debt; respondent cannot disavow liability in its trading name and offered no bona fide defence.
Civil procedure – Summary judgment – Liquid document – Acknowledgement of debt – Trading name – Companies and Other Business Entities Act s29 – Caveat subscriptor and exceptions – Bona fide defence – Costs on higher scale.
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9 November 2022 |
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Applicant entitled to specific performance and uncontroverted expectation damages where respondent’s denial of liability was an afterthought.
Contract law – specific performance and damages – claim for both remedies; Procedure – motion versus action – requirement of real dispute of facts; Consensus ad idem and liability in carriage of goods; Expectation interest – prospective loss computation.
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9 November 2022 |
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Applicant discharged pre-22 February 2019 loan at one-to-one parity and is entitled to specific performance; director and employee improperly joined.
Contract law – Specific performance – Order for return of title deeds and setting aside encumbrance. Currency law – S.I. 33/2019 s 4(1)(d) and Finance (No. 2) Act s 22(1)(d) – one-to-one RTGS:USD parity for obligations before 22 February 2019. Company law – Separate legal personality; directors and employees not automatically liable. Evidence – payments accepted where not specifically denied.
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9 November 2022 |
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Leave to appeal granted to clarify whether Rule-based requirements or specific court orders govern time-limits and consequences for non-compliance.
Civil procedure – compliance with court orders – failure to file heads within stipulated time – contempt – Rule 94 (leave to appeal) discretionary; common law leave acceptable – interplay between court orders and Rules of Court (Rule 59(21)) – leave granted to develop law
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8 November 2022 |
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Application for rescission of consent orders struck off for wrong procedure and lis pendens; deponent’s authority and locus upheld.
Civil procedure — rescission of consent orders — correct procedural route (r 56 of repealed rules vs r 449) — lis pendens where prior rescission applications pending and unpursued — authority of deponent to opposing affidavit — failure to deny allegations in affidavits results in admission
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8 November 2022 |
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Court removed matter from roll due to incoherent, vexatious pleadings and ordered plaintiff to file a compliant amended summons within 30 days.
Civil procedure – Pleadings – Adequacy and clarity of pleadings – Amendments to summons – Compliance with High Court Rules – Pre-trial conference – Court’s power to control vexatious or non‑compliant filings – Self‑represented litigant lacking capacity to prosecute – Registrar directed not to accept non‑Rule documents
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8 November 2022 |
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Holder of an offer letter may sue to evict unlawful occupiers; leases of gazetted land without acquiring authority’s consent are void.
Property law – Gazetted lands – Offer letter as lawful authority to occupy – Locus standi of offer‑letter holder to sue for eviction – Statutory requirement for acquiring authority’s written consent – Lease of State land without consent void – Unlawful occupation – Rei vindicatio/eviction.
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8 November 2022 |
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A purported constitutional claim was a labour dispute in substance and was dismissed as being in the wrong forum, with costs.
Administrative law – limits of judicial intervention in administrative investigations; Labour law – substance over form: employment dispute vs constitutional claim; Locus standi – resignation does not automatically defeat standing if direct and substantial interest shown; Constitutional procedure – requirement to plead specific Bill of Rights breaches when invoking s85(1); Jurisdiction – Labour Court is primary forum for employment reinstatement claims.
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8 November 2022 |
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Preliminary objections to rescind a default judgment that are inseparable from the merits are deferred for determination with the main hearing.
Rescission of judgment; default judgment; points in limine; rolled-over/holistic approach; material non-disclosure; affidavits by legal practitioners; competency and joinder/standing.
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7 November 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed: convictions for illegal sale of council land and sentence for corruption-related abuse of duty upheld.
Criminal abuse of duty by public officers – illegal subdivision and sale of council land – admissible documentary corroboration (offer letters, back‑dated leases) – appellate review of factual findings – sentencing: deterrence in corruption offences.
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7 November 2022 |
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Whether the respondent may commence a new tender while the applicant's statutory procurement appeal remains pending.
Public procurement — Sections 73–75 Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act — challenge to restrictive tender criteria (SAP licence) — effectiveness of statutory remedies to suspend procurement — lawfulness of commencing fresh tender while appeal pending — interim relief and cancellation of procurement — costs on attorney and client scale.
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7 November 2022 |
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Application to substitute plea dismissed as untimely, not bona fide and prejudicial to respondents.
Civil procedure – amendment of pleadings (Rule 41) – timeousness and bona fides – substitution of plea on eve of trial – prejudice and court’s discretion to refuse amendment.
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7 November 2022 |
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Whether self-defence under s253 justified a fatal shooting of an advancing machete-wielding attacker; accused acquitted.
Criminal law – Self-defence and defence of another (s 253 Criminal Law Code) – Imminence of unlawful attack – Necessity and reasonableness of lethal force – Proportionality – Credibility and corroboration of eyewitness evidence.
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5 November 2022 |
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Conviction for possession of railway property quashed where prosecution failed to prove actual or constructive possession beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Statutory offence (Railways Act s38(4)(a)) — Possession (corpus and animus) — Actual and constructive possession — Burden of proof — Failure to call key witnesses — Conviction and sentence set aside on review.
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4 November 2022 |
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Court granted interim interdict suspending transfer and executrix’s functions pending determination of will-authenticity action.
Succession and estates — interim interdict — suspension of letters of administration — challenge to validity of will — transfer of immovable property — urgency — balance of convenience.
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3 November 2022 |
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Leave to appeal out of time and certificate to appeal in person refused because proposed grounds disclosed no prospects of success.
Criminal law - leave to appeal out of time; certificate to prosecute in person; prospects of success; defective grounds of appeal (heads of argument, vagueness); sentencing on separate records.
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3 November 2022 |
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Use of a firearm in robbery supports conviction and custodial sentence; non-recovery of the weapon does not defeat conviction.
Criminal law – Robbery – Use of firearm – Aggravating circumstances under s 126(3)(a),(b) – Non-recovery of weapon not fatal to conviction – Appeal against credibility and sentence dismissed.
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3 November 2022 |
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A procedurally unfair, unnotified vote of no confidence removing a church officer was set aside under administrative justice principles.
Administrative Justice Act s3 – duty to act lawfully, reasonably and procedurally fairly – notice and right to be heard; internal church governance – limits on removal procedures; vote of no confidence invalid where no legal basis or fair procedure; locus standi and waiver
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2 November 2022 |
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A plaintiff must rescind a default dismissal before re‑litigating the same cause of action; splitting claims to circumvent judgment is impermissible.
Civil procedure – res judicata – effect of dismissal in default – rescission of default judgment required before re‑instituting same cause of action; splitting claims as forum shopping; application under r11 r75 and merits determination
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2 November 2022 |
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Applicant lacked locus to challenge ex parte attachment of third‑party property and stay was incompetent after execution; application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure — Ex parte application to found jurisdiction; Rule 60(3)(c) — risk of absconding — attachment of property of peregrine defendant; Locus — challenge to attachment of third‑party property; Competence of stay of execution after execution; Security for costs for peregrinus applicants.
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2 November 2022 |
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Hybrid class-action and mandamus chamber application was procedurally fatally defective; leave to institute must be obtained first.
Class Actions Act — leave to institute — procedural requirement to seek leave before substantive proceedings; Hybrid application (leave plus mandamus) — fatal irregularity; Access to information — request for site plan and master plan; Misjoinder, exhaustion of remedies, jurisdiction raised but not decided
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1 November 2022 |
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Accused's limited plea to culpable homicide accepted; sentenced to three years (two suspended) for fatal assault.
Criminal law – Culpable homicide – Limited plea accepted in place of murder – Agreed facts and post-mortem evidence – Sentencing: youth, guilty plea and remorse as mitigation; sanctity of life, failure to render assistance and deterrence as aggravation.
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1 November 2022 |