A change in company law has made it difficult to get security for costs against a corporate plaintiff because the defendant must now show that the proceedings are either vexatious, reckless or an abuse of the court process.
Change in law
The 1973 Companies Act made it relatively easy for a defendant to obtain security
The JSE has said that the amendments to the JSE Debt Listings Requirements (DLR) were done to align them with the provisions of the Financial Markets Act, 2012 (FMA). The amendments largely serve to replace the references to the Securities Services Act with the FMA and to provide for the listing, trading, clearing and settlement
Even where formalities required by a statute are peremptory, not every deviation is fatal. The question remains whether the object of the statutory provision has been achieved.
The facts of Cowan v Hathorn illustrate the point. Section 32(1)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1936 provides that, if a trustee fails to sue, a creditor may take
Where the relationship between the shareholders of a company has broken down irretrievably so that the company cannot function, the court will wind up a solvent company because it is just and equitable to do so.
In Thunder Cats Investments v Nkonjane Economic Prospecting the court said “Only a winding-up will break the paralysis that
A Montana US court held that the insurers of a Roman Catholic diocese should not cover claims for events of sexual abuse outside of policy time limits. The church tried to persuade the court to apply the continuous trigger approach which is often used in asbestos injury coverage cases. Under this approach the insurer may
When you use the phrase “provided that” remember that what follows qualifies what goes before it. It is not read as a separate provision in its own right.
Section 129 of the National Credit Act does not require a credit provider to prove that a notice by registered post actually came to the attention of the consumer. If a consumer has elected to receive notices by post, a credit provider must prove:
(a) the sending of the notice by registered mail;
(b) that
Where a provision in a contract sets out a list of things the parties “may include” the court said that this “unquestionably signifies that the list is not exclusive”. The phrase may therefore be used to avoid the clumsy “includes, but is not limited to”.
A breach of fiduciary duty by a director should never be taken lightly. The consequences can be expensive when a director prefers their interests over those of their company.
A stock brokerage successfully sued its former managing director for damages based on the MD’s breach of fiduciary duty and abuse of his position of trust.
South African insurers can take heart from the Hong Kong High Court’s judgment to uphold an insurers’ reliance both on a time limit clause and a forfeiture clause in a commercial insurance policy.
The time limit clause provided that the insurer was not liable for any loss or damage after the expiration of twelve months