Contract — Instalment sale agreement — Exception to particulars of claim — Defendants excepting on grounds of non-disclosure of cause of action — Plaintiff alleging breach of payment obligations under instalment sale agreement — Court finding that plaintiff complied with notice requirements and that particulars of claim disclose a valid cause of action — Exception dismissed with costs.
Administrative Law — Leave to appeal — Interlocutory order — Municipality seeking leave to appeal against interim relief granted to applicant pending review proceedings — Court assessing whether the interim order is appealable based on interests of justice — Court finding that the order does not dispose of substantive issues and does not prevent lawful actions by the Municipality — Leave to appeal denied as the appeal would not lead to a just resolution of the underlying dispute.
Costs — Withdrawal of application — Rule 30 application withdrawn by applicant — Respondent seeking costs on attorney and client scale — Court finding no exceptional circumstances justifying punitive costs — Applicant's conduct not vexatious or abusive — Party and party costs awarded instead.
Eviction — Interim eviction — Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 1998 — Application for interim eviction of unlawful occupiers of social housing units — Applicant established as owner and manager of properties — Respondents categorized as unlawful occupiers due to non-payment of rent and involvement in organized resistance — Court found compliance with procedural requirements of PIE Act for some respondents, while postponing application against others due to lack of notice — Interim eviction granted based on imminent danger and substantial hardship to applicant, outweighing hardship to unlawful occupiers.
Leave to appeal — Application for leave to appeal against dismissal of rescission of judgment — Applicant contending improper service of summons — Court finding that sheriff's return of service is prima facie evidence and cannot be displaced by hearsay — No obligation on sheriff to reach out beyond serving process as instructed — Application for leave to appeal dismissed as lacking reasonable prospects of success.
Criminal Procedure — Review of criminal proceedings — Applicant convicted of theft and seeking review of proceedings based on non-disclosure of police docket — Court finding that applicant failed to identify statutory grounds for review and that the complaint relates to errors of law justiciable on appeal — Application dismissed as premature and lacking merit.
Labour Law — Trade Union Registration — Interim interdict sought by Public Servants’ Association against Registrar of Labour Relations to stay cancellation of registration — Registrar's refusal to register amended constitution based on dual registration as trade union and non-profit company — Court finding that the Registrar's decision was not justified as the issue of genuineness had been previously determined — Interim interdict granted pending final determination of appeal.
Execution — Leave to appeal — Application for leave to appeal against final sequestration order — Applicant contending that the judgment giving rise to the debt was under appeal at the time of sequestration — Court finds that the default judgment was not suspended by the pending rescission application — Final order of sequestration does not constitute execution of the default judgment — Leave to appeal refused as no reasonable prospect of success established.
Labour Law — Unfair dismissal — Amendment of pleadings — Plaintiffs seeking to amend statement of claim to include allegations of procedural unfairness in retrenchment process — Defendant objecting on grounds of jurisdiction and bad faith — Court finding that proposed amendments challenge procedural fairness, which was not part of the original claim — Amendment not permitted as it introduces new issues not previously pleaded and lacks a proper basis for the amendment.
Eviction — Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 — Urgent application for final eviction under s 4 — Applicants failing to establish urgency for final relief as required by Rule 6(12) — Availability of interim eviction remedy under s 5 of PIE not considered — Application struck from the urgent roll with costs.
Delict — Damages — Application for declaratory relief and delictual damages dismissed — Applicant claiming over R17 million for alleged wrongful conduct and misrepresentation by the respondent during recruitment — Court finding application fundamentally defective and better suited to action proceedings — No case made out for relief sought, leading to dismissal of the application.
Civil Procedure — Reopening of case — Application to reopen case after closure — Plaintiff seeking to call additional expert witnesses following change of opinion by defendant's experts — Court considering the principles governing reopening cases, including the need for sufficient grounds and the interests of justice — Application denied as plaintiff failed to demonstrate materiality and relevance of new evidence and did not adequately address potential prejudice to the defendant.