This blog was co-authored by Dylan Hampton, Candidate Attorney.
In the Ross and Another v Nedbank Limited case, the plaintiffs instituted an action against the defendant bank, for breaching its duty of care owed to the plaintiffs. The delictual claim alleged that the bank negligently allowed the withdrawing of money from a third-party account belonging
This blog was co-authored by Naledi Etsane, Candidate Attorney.
In Titan Asset Management v Lanzerac, six plaintiffs instituted an action against Lanzerac Estates Investments (Pty) Ltd (first defendant) and Markus Jooste (the second defendant) in relation to a number of inter-related contracts entered into in respect of the sale of their interests in various
In this judgment (dealt with here on material non-disclosure) the second material issue dealt with by the court was whether the insured truthfully represented his medical conditions in relation to his continued ability to work.
The insurer alleged that the insured did not tell either the insurer or the examining doctor that he could perform
The insured, in an Israeli Supreme Court case, claimed under a jewellers block policy alleging he had been a victim of a violent robbery in which diamonds and cash worth approximately $11 million had been stolen. The evidence established that diamonds worth about $6 million of the claim were in the insured’s stock and had
At common law, in the absence of a fraud clause in the insurance policy, fraud can only be relied upon to the extent to which it prejudices the insurer. If an element of the claim is fraudulent only the fraudulent portion of the claim is forfeited at common law. There is no implied term in
An arbitration or similar adjudication clause, contained in an agreement that is found to have been induced by fraud, does not survive the avoidance of the agreement. That would be offensive to justice. The position can only change if the parties specifically make provision in their contract for a dispute regarding fraud, misrepresentation or concealment
The English commercial court set out the limited basis on which an arbitration award can be set aside when it is alleged that evidence of fraud that would have affected the decision only came to light after the award. The merits of an arbitration award are rarely reviewed. Public policy exceptions such as fraud can
The guarantor in Raubex Construction (Pty) Ltd v Bryte Insurance Company alleged that payment under a guarantee was not due because of fraud on the part of the beneficiary. A mere error, misunderstanding or oversight, however unreasonable, does not amount to fraud and is insufficient to show that the contentions of the beneficiary are deliberately
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
The English Supreme Court had the following to say regarding the standard insurance policy fraud clause which excludes liability if the insured makes a claim ‘by fraudulent devices’. The court said:
‘The expression is borrowed from a standard clause avoiding contracts of fire insurance which was widely used in the 19th and early 20