An insurer assessing a life insurance claim may have valid reasons to defer its decision regarding payment to the beneficiaries until it obtains necessary information from third-party investigations, such as police officials. There is a rise in publicised cases of murder for insurance, and life insurers are right to defer payment in appropriate circumstances. However…

This Delaware District Court judgment considered the insured’s claim under the insurer’s Not-For-Profit Entity and Directors, Officers Liability Insurance Policy (“the Policy”). 

The Policy the parties explicitly excluded any claim “alleging, arising out of, based upon or attributable to any actual or alleged contractual liability of [SAEDF] under any express contract or agreement.”

The…

In September 2024 the High Court dismissed a claimant’s delictual claim for damages arising from an incident in which the claimant allegedly tripped and fell over a metal skirting at the premises managed by the property owner.  The claimant alleged that she tripped over metal skirting that was hanging loose.  The court found that the…

A September 2024 judgment of the Free State Division will be of interest to insurers who provide liability cover to municipalities, as the claimant succeeded in its cause of action against the municipality based on a water interruption which was entirely unexplained.

When a fire broke out at a scrapyard in Bloemfontein, the owner sued…

Clinical Peer Review or Medical Peer Review is a process by which healthcare professionals evaluate each other’s clinical performance.  It is commonly done in hospitals in order to improve the quality and safety of care.  It may also serve to reduce the hospital’s potential malpractice liability and ensure that healthcare practitioners are competent and practice…

A claim of negligent credentialing necessitates evidence that the hospital has breached its “independent duty to select and retain competent independent physicians seeking staff privileges”;

The hospital will be “responsible for the negligence of an independent physician when it has failed to exercise due care in the selection and retention of that…

This Delaware District Court judgment considered the insured’s claim under the insurer’s Not-For-Profit Entity and Directors, Officers Liability Insurance Policy (“the Policy”). 

The Policy the parties explicitly excluded any claim “alleging, arising out of, based upon or attributable to any actual or alleged contractual liability of [SAEDF] under any express contract or agreement.”

The…

This judgment dealt with an application based upon a deed of suretyship and indemnity executed by the respondents in favour of the insured.  The deed of surety and indemnity had its genesis in a guarantee issued by the insurer to an airline in favour of Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited, the beneficiary. 

The insurer…

This blog was co-authored by Dayna Saad, Candidate Attorney.

The issue of copyright ownership is of critical importance for businesses to consider, particularly when the creation of work that is material to the business in question is outsourced to independent contractors. To determine who owns the copyright in a piece of work, one must first…

This blog was co-authored by William Hayne, Candidate Attorney.

In this case the court addressed significant issues surrounding privacy, defamation, and the appropriate relief for such claims.

The respondents had published a video on social media that included the claimant’s personal information and allegedly defamatory content. The claimant claimed that this publication breached his right…