The long awaited South African Companies Amendment Bill (Bill) was published on 21 September 2018 for comment. Substantial changes to the South African Companies Act 2008 (Companies Act), which became law in 2011, have been proposed. Comments may be submitted to the SA Department of Trade and Industry by 20 November 2018, and we encourage
September 2018
Competition Amendment Bill proposes significant changes to Market Inquiries
The Competition Amendment Bill proposes giving the Competition Commission broader powers, with more substantial remedies and the threshold for initiating a market inquiry has been lowered. Key changes include the expansion of the scope of market inquiries, the provision of a notification and consultation process with sector regulators and the granting of substantial powers to…
‘Fraudulent devices’
The English Supreme Court had the following to say regarding the standard insurance policy fraud clause which excludes liability if the insured makes a claim ‘by fraudulent devices’. The court said:
‘The expression is borrowed from a standard clause avoiding contracts of fire insurance which was widely used in the 19th and early 20…
Medical prosthesis not defective nor abnormal risk (UK)
The manufacturer of a hip prosthesis system (which was of a metal-on-metal design) for use in total hip replacement operations was sued by 313 individual claimants who alleged metal-wear debris damaged surrounding soft tissues necessitating revision surgery. The court found that the system was not defective and the claimants had not proved that it did…
Responsibility of holding company for delicts of subsidiary (UK)
A group of 218 Kenyans sued the English holding company of a subsidiary company in Kenya for which the plaintiffs worked, for failing to protect them against political violence that erupted in Kenya after the 2007 presidential election. The English court held that there was no arguable case against the holding company that it owed…
Strip club not covered for credit card theft by employees (US)
In August 2018, a US federal court ruled that an insurer did not have to cover a strip club for third party reimbursement costs arising from credit card fraud on its customers by the club’s employees because no direct loss was suffered by the club itself.
The insured, a club owner, was the holder of…
Damage arising from marijuana operations not covered by policy (US)
A US appeals court in August 2018 found that an insurer does not have to indemnify its insured for damage to a warehouse by tenants who converted it into a marijuana growing operation, finding that an exclusion in the policy for losses resulting from criminal acts precluded cover.
The claim arose under the building and…