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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2004 |
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Rescission refused: wilful default, implausible explanation, and no prospects of success on liability.
Civil procedure — Rescission of default judgment — requirements: reasonable explanation for default, bona fides, prospects of success — service under Rule 39 — wilful default — effect of criminal convictions on prospects of success.
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18 May 2004 |
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Appeals from the Labour Court must raise questions of law; pure factual challenges without showing misdirection are not entertainable.
Labour law – Appeals from Labour Court – Appeal limited to questions of law (s92(2) Labour Relations Act) – Appellate review of factual findings only where findings are perverse or amount to misdirection in law
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17 May 2004 |
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Tribunal misdirected; employee’s wilful disobedience and misrepresentation justified dismissal.
Labour law – dismissal for wilful disobedience and misrepresentation; contractor approval instructions; review for factual misdirection amounting to error of law
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12 May 2004 |
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An innocent second purchaser’s transfer was set aside in favour of the respondents due to Deeds Office failure to register a caveat.
Property law – double sale of immovable property – priority of first contract – caveat and notice – effect of Deeds Office omission – innocent purchaser doctrine – absence of special circumstances.
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12 May 2004 |
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Whether an unlawfully dismissed, elderly unskilled employee who sought casual work reasonably mitigated his damages.
Labour law — wrongful dismissal — mitigation of damages — employee's duty to seek alternative employment — reasonableness assessed by age, skills and economic conditions — reduction of damages for failure to mitigate
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10 May 2004 |
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An applicant cannot obtain costs against a maintenance complainant absent any pleaded or evidential basis for such an order.
Maintenance law — committal for non-payment — urgent application for release — costs — no basis on pleadings to order a private complainant to pay costs — right to report maintenance default
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10 May 2004 |
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The appellants lacked standing; the offer was not a lease and subsequent acquisition notice required their eviction.
Land acquisition – ownership vests in acquiring authority on acquisition – locus standi – speculative reversionary interest insufficient; Offer letter – not a lease (no rent agreed) – Agricultural Land Settlement Act s9 inapplicable; Land Acquisition Amendment Act No.10/2002 s4(b) – subsequent order substitutes invalid order and triggers seven-day vacatur obligation
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9 May 2004 |
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Appeal reinstated due to former counsel’s last‑day renunciation despite prima facie poor prospects on the merits.
Civil procedure — Reinstatement of appeal — Rule 36/Rule 43(2)/Rule 44 — Good cause for default — Counsel’s last‑day renunciation/abandonment — Summary judgment — Right to be heard.
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4 May 2004 |
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Amendment cured alleged vagueness; creditor’s claim on an acknowledgement of debt sustained; appeal dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – exception to declaration – whether pleadings are vague and embarrassing – amendment curing ambiguity – liquid document (acknowledgement of debt) – provisional sentence available
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2 May 2004 |