The High Court in December 2025 held that section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) does not force a consumer to exhaust ombud or commission processes before suing in court, and it upheld a refund order where a second‑hand 4×4 vehicle quickly showed repeated defects and repair attempts did not resolve them.
A consumer
In January 2026, the High Court dismissed a claimant’s future loss of income claim against the Road Accident Fund where the injuries were minor soft‑tissue injuries with no permanent impairment and the evidence showed a rapid discharge, return to the same work, and increased earnings.
The claim arose from a motor vehicle accident on 9
On 28 January 2026 the High Court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff’s wasted costs on a party‑and‑party scale following a consented postponement and declined to award punitive costs.
The defendant sought to bring a substantive application to withdraw an erroneous admission made in the pre‑trial agenda and with the consent of the plaintiff
A 2026 High Court judgment confirmed that an insurer exercising rights of subrogation have status as a party in pending litigation and may not depose to a discovery affidavit on behalf of its insured unless it has been formally joined to the proceedings.
The judgment arose from a dispute concerning discovery in an action involving
In 2026, the Supreme Court of Appeal confirmed that a party cannot rely on broadly worded disclaimers or indemnities to escape delictual liability where those terms are not properly brought to the consumer’s attention or validly agreed.
The appeal arose from a personal injury claim brought by a tourist who fell from a moving safari
Where the same conduct constitutes both a breach of contract and a delict, giving rise to a concurrence of actions that affords the plaintiff an election which remedy to choose.
It is only where a claim is grounded in the improper performance of a contractual obligation and the parties have deliberately structured their relationship including
In a recent decision of the English High Court, the court held that the non-compliance of an insured with conditions excused the insurer from liability in its policy with its insurer, including those relating to the notification and investigation of a claim.
The liability of the insurer for the claim, brought by a third party
A January 2026 High Court judgment confirmed, yet again, that an insurer issuing an advance payment guarantee is obliged to honour a demand for payment where the demand complied with the terms of the guarantee. Disputes over payment certificates are managed under the construction contract. The court reaffirmed the autonomous nature of demand guarantees and
In January 2026, the High Court held that a completed beneficiary nomination form that reached the insurer during the lifetime of the Insured, was effective despite an incorrect policy number noted on the form. The court highlighted that administrative errors that do not affect the clarity of the nomination, will not override the insured’s intention.
This recent New South Wales Supreme Court judgment articulates the well‑established position in jurisdictions around the world, including South Africa, that the words “arising from” in a policy require a less close causal connection between the causal event and the harm than the phrase “caused by”.
Judgments from Australia and other common law jurisdictions consistently