The Supreme Court of Appeal has again emphasised that a performance guarantee in terms of which the guarantor undertakes to pay an amount if the contractor fails to perform the required work is unconditional. The beneficiary of the guarantee is not obliged to prove an entitlement under the principal contract before it can make a
A recent US case referred to an interim payment to injured third parties as ‘strategic response costs’ covered under the policy. That is a neat phrase to use instead of an ex gratia payment.
‘Ex gratia’ is always controversial because it implies a payment without a lawful obligation. Ex gratia payments are often made for
In the High Court Steinhoff judgment, it was argued that the litigation funding agreement between the class representative and the funder was a contract of insurance in terms of which the funder provides indemnity insurance to the class representative in consideration for the funder being paid a premium, being a percentage of the ultimate reward.
In South Africa third party litigation funders are increasingly playing an important role in assisting claimants in pursuing litigation both in respect of future legal expenses and costs already incurred. And in particular for class actions, commercial litigation, consumer disputes, and medical negligence claims.
In certifying a class action the court must be told how
In the US state of Georgia, the formula applied with court backing since 2001 for determining how much a car’s value diminishes after a wreck and repair is “the difference between pre-loss value and post-repair value”. Attorneys for two plaintiffs brought a class action alleging that the insurer was underestimating the value of repaired
The Pension Funds Act, 1956 (“PFA”) is the primary legislation regulating retirement funds. Section 30A of the PFA provides that any person who has a complaint as defined in section 1 “may lodge a written complaint with the retirement fund for consideration by the board, which must be properly considered and responded
This blog was co-authored by Sa’ood Lahri, Director and Muhammad Mirza, Candidate Attorney
In August 2021 the High Court[1] accepted that an affidavit commissioned over a WhatsApp video-call constitutes substantial compliance with the applicable regulations[2] and is valid in light of the practical difficulties faced by the deponent due to the raging Covid19