Administrative Law — Promotion of Administrative Justice Act — Application for leave to appeal concerning university decision — Applicant contended absence of contemporaneous record of proceedings undermined the university's justification for its decision — Issues of predetermination and the proper consideration of medical evidence raised — Court found reasonable prospects of success on appeal due to arguable questions regarding procedural fairness and the interpretation of relevant policies — Compelling reasons for the appeal to be heard identified, with implications for broader administrative accountability in public universities.
Employment Law — Disciplinary proceedings — Binding nature of appeal chairperson's decision — Applicant sought specific performance of her employment contract after state-owned company disregarded appeal chairperson's finding that overturned her dismissal — Legal issue arose as to whether the employer could override the binding decision of the appeal chairperson — Court held that the decision of the appeal chairperson was binding on the employer, and its attempt to disregard it constituted a breach of contract, allowing the applicant to enforce her employment rights in the High Court.
Road Accident Fund — Default judgment — Application for default judgment against the Road Accident Fund following a motor vehicle accident on 26 January 2017 — Plaintiff instituted action for damages, served summons, and defendant failed to file a plea after notice of bar — Court granted default judgment on merits, holding defendant 100% liable for plaintiff's proven damages — Recalculation of loss of earnings determined total loss of R2 550 945.00 after applying appropriate contingency deductions — Defendant ordered to pay plaintiff's loss of earnings and furnish an undertaking for future medical treatment.
Companies — Name registration — Application for determination of compliance with section 11(2) of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 — Applicant contending that Respondent's name “APS SADC (Pty) Ltd” is confusingly similar to its registered trade mark “APS” — Respondent opposing based on prior use and statutory protection under the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993 — Tribunal determining that compliance with section 11(2) requires only one of the subsections to be satisfied for disqualification — Respondent's name found to be confusingly similar to Applicant's registered mark, warranting amendment of Respondent's name or substitution of registration number.
Sectional Titles — Appointment of curator ad litem — Applicants, managing agent and section owners of a sectional title scheme, sought appointment of a curator ad litem under section 9 of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act to investigate Laudefield's alleged debts and unlawful operation of nightclubs on the property — Respondents, including Body Corporate trustees, denied improper influence and raised res judicata based on a prior adjudication — Court held that res judicata did not bar the application as the prior adjudicator lacked jurisdiction to consider the relief sought — Prima facie grounds established for the appointment of a curator ad litem to investigate the Body Corporate's failure to act against Laudefield.
Electricity Supply — Unlawful disconnection — Applicants sought urgent relief for restoration of electricity supply after alleged unlawful disconnections by the municipality, despite existing final court orders regulating the same issue — Legal issue of whether repeated applications for identical relief constituted abuse of process — Court held that the institution of fresh urgent applications was impermissible as it undermined the principle of finality in litigation and existing enforcement mechanisms should have been utilized instead.
Companies — Company name objection — Application by Legatum Limited against Legatum Advisory Solutions (Pty) Ltd for a determination that the latter's name is confusingly similar to the Applicant's registered LEGATUM trade mark — First Respondent failed to file an answering affidavit — Tribunal finds that the First Respondent's name incorporates the LEGATUM mark in its entirety and is likely to mislead the public regarding association with the Applicant — Application for default relief granted, directing the First Respondent to change its name and file an amendment to its Memorandum of Incorporation within three months.
Damages — Loss of support — Application for default judgment against the Road Accident Fund for damages following the death of a breadwinner in a motor vehicle collision — Plaintiffs, including the deceased's spouse and minor children, established liability on the part of the insured driver due to negligence — Court awarded damages based on actuarial report, adjusting for contingencies related to the surviving spouse's earning potential and the minors' dependency — First plaintiff awarded R1 874 718.00 and second plaintiff awarded R597 966.00 for loss of support.
Curatorship — Fees of curator bonis — Application for declaratory relief regarding entitlement to fees from Road Accident Fund payments — Applicants, appointed as curators bonis, sought to recover fees calculated at 6% of compensation payments made by the Fund — Fund contended that such payments were capital, not income, and therefore not subject to curator fees — Court dismissed application, affirming that the RAF payments do not constitute income for the purposes of curator bonis fees.
Summary Judgment — Rental Agreement — Plaintiff sought summary judgment for outstanding rentals and return of a photocopier against defendants, who disputed the validity of the rental agreement and the cession to the plaintiff. Defendants argued procedural defects and raised various defences including misrepresentation and cancellation of an alleged prior agreement with the supplier. Court held that defendants failed to present a bona fide defence as they did not deny the existence of the signed rental agreement and their claims of misrepresentation and cancellation were not substantiated. Summary judgment granted in favour of the plaintiff.
Companies — Name objection — Application for determination of confusing similarity between company name and registered trade mark — Applicant objected to First Respondent's name incorporating "INVESTEC," claiming it was confusingly similar to its registered trade mark — First Respondent failed to file an answering affidavit — Tribunal found that the name "Green Investec Projects (Pty) Ltd" was confusingly similar to the INVESTEC trade mark, likely misleading the public into believing an association with the Applicant — Default order granted directing First Respondent to change its name and file notice of amendment to its Memorandum of Incorporation.
Eviction — ESTA occupiers — Appeal against eviction order — Jantjies family residing on Krom Rivier farm evicted based on termination of employment of the late Charmaine Jantjies — Court finding that rights of residence were dependent on employment benefits — Appeal upheld, eviction order set aside, and application dismissed with costs.