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Citation
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Judgment date
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| February 2014 |
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A defective counter‑application and lack of personal service defeated contempt proceedings; the default judgment was rightly rescinded and appeal dismissed.
Default judgment — rescission — inherent jurisdiction and r 449 — counter‑application must comply with r 229A — contempt requires personal service and proof of wilful disobedience.
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26 February 2014 |
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Expiry of a suspension under reg 49(3) cancels only the suspension, not the disciplinary proceedings; retrospective extension is invalid.
Public Service Regulations – suspension (regs 48, 49) – distinction between suspension and disciplinary charges – expiry of suspension cancels suspension only, not proceedings – unlawful retrospective extension of suspension – remittal for rehearing where not justified.
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24 February 2014 |
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Whether a withdrawal notice was validly authorized by the respondent or improperly filed without mandate.
Civil procedure — Withdrawal of action — Authority to withdraw — Contemporaneous solicitor's letter vs subsequent affidavit — Probative weight of contemporaneous documents — Appellate review on papers.
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20 February 2014 |
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Applicant’s maintenance claim dismissed as she was found capable of self-support; property claim not before the court.
Family law — Divorce and ancillary relief — Maintenance post-divorce — Marriage not automatic guarantee of lifelong maintenance; ability to work and absence of young children relevant. Civil procedure — Relief not pleaded in court a quo cannot be raised on appeal — claim to half-share in matrimonial home therefore not entertained.
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19 February 2014 |
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Court affirms equitable division of matrimonial assets, permits valuation/apportionment of improvements on state land and lifts corporate veils where justice requires.
Family law – divorce – apportionment of matrimonial assets under s 7 Matrimonial Causes Act – improvements on state‑allocated land separable and divisible; corporate veil – lifting/piercing where company is alter ego or to prevent manifest injustice; credibility findings on appeal; discretionary asset division.
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19 February 2014 |
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A minority shareholder may urgently seek interim relief over a subsidiary’s land sale upon learning the sale occurred without involvement.
Civil procedure — Urgency — crystallisation of need to act when sale occurs; Locus standi — minority shareholder in holding company with indirect interest in subsidiary’s property may establish prima facie right to interim relief; Misjoinder — purchaser’s joinder appropriate when order would affect its rights
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13 February 2014 |
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An alleged donation and bequest were void ab initio; registered titleholder’s ownership prevailed and the appeal was dismissed.
Property law — Ownership and transfer of immovable property — Substitution of property in sale with Master’s consent and transfer of title; Donation and bequest — Validity — One cannot bequeath what one does not lawfully own; Eviction — Entitlement to vacant possession of registered owner.
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6 February 2014 |