Paul Cartwright

Subscribe to all posts by Paul Cartwright

The role of expert evidence in a trial

By Paul Cartwright on August 3, 2022 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by: Nomonde Sithole, Trainee Associate and Julian Scholtz, Candidate Attorney The opinions drawn by expert witnesses do not replace the task of civil courts to determine the issues in dispute on the balance of probabilities, and only serve as guidance for courts in determining the issues. This was highlighted in an … Continue reading

Deduction of gratuitous payments received by damages claimants

By Paul Cartwright on February 28, 2022 Posted in General

In the June 2021 judgement of Chantell Martin v Road Accident Fund, the court decided that gratuitous or benevolent payments, received by an injured claimant from her husband, should not be taken into account in the calculation of that person’s damages for loss of earnings. The accident occurred in 2015, and the RAF had conceded … Continue reading

A cautionary tale on expert evidence

By Paul Cartwright on February 25, 2022 Posted in General

In the April 2020 case of MTV v MEC Health, the Pretoria High Court has once again placed the issue of expert evidence firmly in the judicial spotlight. Focus was squarely placed on the requirement for expert witnesses to provide the court with as objective and unbiased opinion as possible, based on their expertise. This … Continue reading

Interpreting a settlement agreement

By Donald Dinnie and Paul Cartwright on October 20, 2021 Posted in Interpretation

The Supreme Court of Appeal, in Pelham Stephanus Bothma and Others v Tertius Bothma N.O and Another (Case number 748/2019) [2021] ZASCA 46 (15 April 2021), re-affirmed the position regarding the interpretation of legal documents, re-stating the principle that only admissible evidence of context, conservatively applied, may be led in resolving an interpretation dispute. The dispute … Continue reading