The Constitutional Court re-examined section 7(2) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act which creates an obligation on applicants for the court review of an administrative decision to exhaust all internal remedies first. The obligation to exhaust internal remedies should not be rigidly imposed nor used by administrators to frustrate an applicant’s efforts to review
October 2018
One hundred and eighty day period for court review not extended
The supreme court of appeal refused to extend the 180 day period for court review proceedings to challenge administrative action by the Free State Gambling and Liquor Authority because there was no reasonably satisfactory or acceptable explanation for the delay. In the absence of any proper explanation for the delay the court refused to grant…
Fraudulent misrepresentation defeats voetstoots clause in sale
Where a seller had fraudulently failed to disclose a defective roof and sewerage system covered by buildings constructed without required statutory approval he was successfully sued in delict for fraudulent misrepresentation and fraudulent nondisclosure. Because the conduct was fraudulent the delictual claim defeated the voetstoots clause in the deed of sale as well as the…
Termination of employment is only grounds for eviction if agreed
The Extension of Security of Tenure Act 1997 (ESTA) distinguishes between individuals whose right of residence arises solely from the employment agreement and those whose right arises from the general consent of the owner of the land. Only in the former instance can the right of residence be terminated on termination of employment.
In the…
Defiance of law: the collateral challenge defence by Namibian insurers
Under the correct set of circumstances a party may treat an administrative act as void and await developments, which must not be ‘equated with contumacious disregard for the law by anarchists and legal delinquents’, according to a judgment of the Namibia High Court
The judgment stayed the implementation and application of the provisions of the…
Amazon has no product liability for third party product warehoused and shipped (US)
A New Jersey court found that Amazon is not liable for a defective laptop battery it sold that caused a home to burn down.
The plaintiff bought a laptop battery using an Amazon account which was sold by a Hong Kong company. She left the battery charging on her bed and the house burnt down…
Claim by shareholders against directors under section 218(2) of Companies Act fails
Shareholders of African Bank Investments Limited failed in their claim for over R720 million against the directors and auditors of African Bank. The plaintiffs sued unsuccessfully under section 218(2) of the Companies Act 2008 alleging that the conduct of the defendants resulted in a loss to the shareholders because of the drop in the share…
Companies Tribunal to adjudicate BEE referrals in proposed Companies Act amendments
In the first proposed amendments to the Companies Act 2008 since coming into force in 2011, it is proposed that the Companies Tribunal be given the power to adjudicate matters referred to it by the BEE Commission. This amendment would enable the BEE Commission to refer matters to the Tribunal, particularly where complaints and reported…
Appeal court reluctantly finds a once-off loan requires registration as credit provider
The appeal court has found that the requirement to register as a credit provider is applicable to all credit agreements once the prescribed threshold is reached (currently zero), irrespective of whether the credit provider is involved in the credit industry and irrespective of whether the credit agreement is a once-off transaction. The appeal court…
Unrestricted financial assistance – Financiers to consider the risks
The Companies Amendment Bill released on 21 September 2018 for public comment, proposes a raft of amendments to the Companies Act. Section 45 presently provides that any financial assistance granted by a holding company to its subsidiary must be authorised by the board and the shareholders by way of a special resolution. If not the…