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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2021 |
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Applicant whose offer letter was nullified cannot be joined to neighbours’ appeals; must have subsisting interest and proper procedural basis.
Joinder/Intervention — Supreme Court Rule 54 — intervention requires court-initiated notice — direct and substantial interest — effect of prior final order nullifying offer letter — audi alteram partem not a substitute for proper procedural basis
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31 March 2021 |
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Extension of time granted to seek leave to appeal sentence; conviction prospect refused, sentence merits Supreme Court consideration.
Criminal abuse of duty (s 174) – elements of offence; Ministerial duty and duty of due diligence; Procurement/tender procedures – bypassing tenders; Extension of time and prospects of success for leave to appeal; Sentence for corruption – need for Supreme Court guidance.
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30 March 2021 |
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High Court misapplied interim-interdict tests to an application for a final interdict; appeal allowed and application dismissed.
Civil procedure — Interdicts — Distinction between final and interim interdicts — Proper legal tests to be applied — Court must decide issues placed before it; misdirection vitiates order
Arbitration — interplay between arbitral awards and court consent orders
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29 March 2021 |
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Arbitrator properly refused postponement and dismissed the claimant under Article 25(d) for failure to prosecute.
Arbitration — postponement discretionary; counsel of choice not an absolute right; Article 25(d) (default of claimant) permits dismissal for failure or refusal to prosecute; high threshold for setting aside awards on public policy grounds.
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26 March 2021 |
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Setting aside a nullified dismissal restores employment status ante and permits reinstatement absent lawful unpaid suspension.
Labour law – Judicial review under s89 Labour Act – Setting aside fatally irregular disciplinary proceedings as a nullity – Restoration of status quo ante and employment contract – Reinstatement as competent remedy – Remittal discretionary – Effect of prior lawful suspension without pay.
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26 March 2021 |
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Condonation is required for delayed r449 rescission; affected non-parties may litigate but must prove fraud and act promptly.
Civil procedure – rescission of judgment (r 449) – requirement for expedition and condonation for inordinate delay; locus standi of affected non-parties to seek rescission; allegation of fraud in obtaining consent orders; finality of litigation in land acquisition disputes
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25 March 2021 |
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Liquidation confirmed where appellant admitted inability to pay debts; post-judgment payments did not displace winding-up order.
Company law — Winding up — s 206(f) Companies Act — inability to pay debts — discretion to withhold winding up narrow — party opposing winding up bears onus to show exceptional circumstances — appellate interference with discretion only for misdirection or factual error — post-judgment payments on appeal insufficient to set aside liquidation order
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25 March 2021 |
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Appellant held liable as importer and VAT-registered supplier, but compulsory appointment of unrelated public officer was unlawful.
Customs and tax law – identity of importer – bills of entry as prima facie evidence – VAT liability on importation and supplies – registration as a VAT operator – unlawful appointment of public officer/representative registered operator
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23 March 2021 |
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Specific performance upheld; damages quantification remitted for trial; director personally liable in exceptional circumstance to prevent injustice.
Specific performance – motion proceedings appropriate where no material disputes of fact; Prescription – claim not prescribed where demand placed party in mora; Damages – quantification requires trial evidence; Supervening impossibility – defence not established by inflation/dollarisation alone; Corporate personality – piercing veil in exceptional cases to avoid manifest injustice
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23 March 2021 |
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Mandatory statutory time-limits for electoral appeals are jurisdictional; failure to comply removes the appeal from the court’s jurisdiction.
Electoral law – s 182 time-limits for election petitions and appeals mandatory – parties (dominus litis) must seek s 182(3) directions – failure to comply ousts jurisdiction – r 21 form and content requirements – limits on condonation
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23 March 2021 |
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Whether an executor dative had standing and proved fraud to rescind a judgment about trust shareholdings.
Civil procedure – rescission of judgment – grounds of rescission at common law (fraud, justus error) – burden of proof on applicant; Locus standi – executor dative/curator bonis – timing of authority; Company and trust instruments – share certificates, resolutions and trust deed as determinative evidence of shareholding; Appeal – appellate interference with factual findings only for misdirection
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23 March 2021 |
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Leave to appeal refused where draft notice was defective and grounds failed to raise questions of law.
Civil procedure — leave to appeal — draft notice of appeal must comply with rules (correct date; exact and competent relief) — grounds must raise questions of law — appellate review limited to points of law — opposing affidavit not fatally defective for omission of reference citations
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22 March 2021 |
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Medical treatment abroad weighed against abscondment risk; lack of substitute security justified refusal to vary bail.
Criminal procedure — Variation of bail conditions — s 126 (necessity or advisability in the interests of justice) — applicant's medical treatment abroad — adequacy and provenance of medical evidence — balancing medical need against risk of abscondment — requirement to offer substitute security
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19 March 2021 |
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A default judgment obtained against a person not cited is void and may be rescinded; consequent execution order set aside.
Civil procedure – Rule 449 rescission – Judgment erroneously sought/granted – Meaning of "absence" – Joinder and misnaming of parties – Default judgment obtained against non‑litigant – Execution order dependent on void default judgment – Review powers s 25(2) Supreme Court Act
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18 March 2021 |
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16 March 2021 |
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The applicant’s termination was unlawful because the respondents’ fixed‑term contracts were tacitly renewed by continued service and payment.
Labour law — Fixed‑term contracts — Tacit relocation (tacit renewal) where employee continues to work and be paid after expiry; Labour Act s12 (deemed contracts and duration); effect of post‑expiry negotiations; unilateral variation of relocated contract invalid.
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15 March 2021 |
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Whether a purported sale was a sham justifying piercing the corporate veil to permit execution against mining claims.
Company law — Piercing the corporate veil — Sham transfer and collusion to defeat execution; interpleader — burden of proof; judicial attachment — mining claims — proof of sale and payment; appellate review of discretionary refusal to lift corporate veil
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9 March 2021 |
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Unpaid allowance claims prescribed; memorandum-induced contract variation and employee acquiescence barred recovery.
Labour law — prescription of disputes (s 94 Labour Act) — each non‑payment gives rise to a separate cause of action; continuing unfair labour practice exception limited — variation of contract by internal memorandum and employee’s acquiescence — implied consent precludes later claims
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9 March 2021 |
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Appellant failed to prove ownership of attached goods; separate corporate personality prevented claiming company property.
Interpleader proceedings – onus to prove ownership – presumption of ownership when in possession – separate legal personality – lifting corporate veil – appellate interference with factual findings (gross unreasonableness).
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9 March 2021 |