Tag archives: Settlement agreements

Interpreting a settlement agreement

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

Effect of settlement agreement

Ten years after the 2010 World Cup the Supreme Court of Appeal has given judgment in a dispute between the South African Football Association and a travel business relating to travel arrangements for the competition. The parties had a settlement agreement which was in ‘full and final settlement’ of the dispute relating to whether SAFA … Continue reading

A settlement agreement is not governed by the National Credit Act if the underlying dispute is not

The Supreme Court of Appeal found that if the underlying cause of a settlement does not fall within the parameters of the National Credit Act (NCA), then the settlement agreement cannot logically be converted to a credit agreement under the NCA. The underlying cause (in this case the rental agreement) is of vital significance because … Continue reading

Acceptance of settlement offer must be unconditional

The Supreme Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the principle that where a party alleges that a compromise (settlement) has been effected in an exchange of correspondence it must be proved that the offer of compromise was accepted. The acceptance must be absolute, unconditional and identical with the offer. Otherwise there is no consensus and no … Continue reading

UK Court rules that settlement with a concurrent wrongdoer does not release other wrongdoers unless it satisfies the whole claim

A UK High Court has decided that settlement of a claim for injuries sustained by a sub-contractor on a construction project would only extinguish a further claim against a hospital for alleged negligent treatment received following the work accident if the settlement satisfied the whole claim. The defendant hospital brought an application to declare the … Continue reading

Insurers, settlement agreements and fraud

Insurers should remember that, in the absence of fraud, settlement of an ill-founded claim is nonetheless binding and if you settle despite a reasonable suspicion of fraud you will be bound by the settlement. That was confirmed as a well-established principle of English law recently in Hayward v Zurich Insurance Co. It is also a … Continue reading
LexBlog