Case Law[2023] ZAGPJHC 761South Africa
Roolal N.O v Mphephu N.O and Another (2020/20343) [2023] ZAGPJHC 761 (5 July 2023)
Headnotes
between the former chairperson of the VBS Bank's board, Mr Matodzi, the head of treasury Mr Makhodobwane and the former treasurer, Mr Truter, and chief financial officer at the Eagle Canyon estate.
Judgment
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## Roolal N.O v Mphephu N.O and Another (2020/20343) [2023] ZAGPJHC 761 (5 July 2023)
Roolal N.O v Mphephu N.O and Another (2020/20343) [2023] ZAGPJHC 761 (5 July 2023)
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sino date 5 July 2023
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG LOCAL DIVISION,
JOHANNESBURG
REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
Case
no: 2020/20343
NOT
REPORTABLE
NOT
OF INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES
05.07.23
In
the matter between:
ANOOSHKUMAR
ROOLAL N.O
Applicant
and
PETER
TONI MPHEPHU N.O
First
Respondent
PORTIA
HULISANI MPHEPHU N.O
Second
Respondent
Delivered:
This
judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties' legal representatives by email, and uploaded on caselines
electronic platform. The date for hand-down is deemed to be
5
July
2023.
JUDGMENT
Molahlehi
J
Introduction
[1]
The applicant, the liquidator of VBS Mutual Bank (in liquidation), Mr
Anooshkumar Rooplal N.O, seeks an order placing the estate
of Dzata
Trust under provisional sequestration. The respondents who are cited
in their capacity as the trustees of Dzata Trust,
are Mr Peter Tony
Mphephu N.O and Mrs Portia Hulisani Mphephu N.O.
[2]
The applicant seeks the sequestration of Dzata Trust on the following
grounds:
"191
the Trust is indebted to VBS Bank as defined in section 9(1) of the
Insolvency Act 24 of 1936 ("
Insolvency Act"
;);
19.2
the debt arises from monies lent and advanced by VBS to the Trust
through a credit overdraft facility;
19.3
the Trust has, to date, failed, refused and/or neglected to repay the
debt it owes to VBS despite demand;
19.4
the Trust is factually insolvent in that the value of its liabilities
(fairly valued) exceeds the value of its assets (fairly
valued); and
19,5
it will be to the advantage of the Trust's creditors that the estate
of the Trust be sequestrated, as envisaged in 10(c) of
the
Insolvency
Act."
[3
]
The indebtedness upon which the applicant relies in support of the
application is that Dzata Trust should be sequestrated based
on the
failure to meet the demand for the payment of R10 610 912.23.
According to the applicant, the indebtedness of Dzata Trust
arose
from the fraudulent scheme perpetrated against the VBS Bank account
on 29 March 2017. According to the applicant, the amount
owed is
reflected in the restated statement dated 31 December 2018 after the
recalculated balance.
[4]
The applicant contends that Dzata Trust benefited from the fraudulent
scheme perpetrated upon the VBS Bank. The existence of
the fraudulent
scheme is traced to 19 March 2017 when a meeting was held between the
former chairperson of the VBS Bank's board,
Mr Matodzi, the head of
treasury Mr Makhodobwane and the former treasurer, Mr Truter, and
chief financial officer at the Eagle
Canyon estate.
[5]
The detailed facts about the fraudulent scheme that was perpetrated
against VBS Bank are set out in the affidavit of Mr Mukhodubwane
dated 22 May 2018. The affidavit was made available to the
investigation, which was conducted in terms of section 134 of the
Financial
Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017.
[6]
In asserting that Dzata Trust is indebted to the VBS Bank, the
applicant relies on the overdraft facility allegedly made available
to it (Dzata Trust) under business account number 010004306001
(credit facility).
[7]
The applicant has, despite diligent search, not been able to locate
the copy of the application for the overdraft facility.
The applicant
relies on a VBS Bank account as proof of the overdraft facility's
utilisation. The terms and conditions that would
ordinarily apply to
such overdraft facility would provide for the following:
"44.1
the overdraft facility would be granted by VBS to clients who will
open or have an existing transactional banking account
with VBS
(clause 1 of terms);
44.2
VBS would be entitled to charge interest at its prime rate of
interest as publicly quoted from time to time, and such interest
will
be charged on the total outstanding amount of the client's overdraft
facility and calculated daily and compounded monthly
in arrears
(clause 2 of terms);
44.3
VBS would also be entitled to charge penalty interest on the amounts
in arrears, and the interest rate will be the same as
the interest
rate charged in respect of the overdraft facility (clause 2 of
terms);
44.4
the client would be entitled to increase the facility limit at any
time by informing the applicant in writing or telephonically,
and VBS
would confirm that new limit in writing or telephonically (clause 10
of terms);
44.5
VBS has the right, any time, within ten days written notice or upon
the default of the client, to cancel or suspend the
facility and
claim the full outstanding amount on the credit facility (clause 5 of
terms); and
44.6
a certificate of indebtedness signed by "any person appointed by
VBS (whose authority and appointment need not be
proved) certifying
the amount outstanding from time to time, shall constitute prima
facie evidence of any amounts outstanding (clause
14 of terms) VBS
made the overdraft facility available to the customer in accordance
with the Overdraft Agreement, as they are
applicable to all overdraft
facilities made available by VBS to its client and/or customers."
[8]
The applicant contends that Dzata Trust utilised the overdraft
facility through the account referred to above from 1 December
2016,
and this is evidenced through the transactions reflected in the
account held by the VBS Bank in the name of Dzata Trust.
In this
respect, reference is made to Dzata Trust making payment of its
membership of the Home Owners Association at Dainfern.
The membership
is reflected in the deed of transfer. The mortgage bond which Dzata
Trust has on the immovable property based at
Dainfern was also
serviced through the same account, and payment was made in the amount
of R929 351.68. In support of this averment,
the applicant attached
to the founding affidavit the copy of the mortgage bond account
reflecting the payment made by the Dzata
Trust to that account. There
is also a reference to the various withdrawals from the same account.
For instance, R25,500 and R100,000
withdrawals were made in December
2016 for Mr Makhavhu and Mr TP Mphephu.
[9]
In brief, the applicant contends that the Dzata Trust has failed to
pay for the debt due and owing to VBS Bank in the sum of
R10 610
912.23. The applicant contends that for this reason, Dzata Trust is
factually insolvent, as its liabilities exceed its
assets. It is
further argued that Dzata Trust is commercially insolvent because it
cannot pay its debts.
[10]
The applicant further avers that it would be to the advantage of the
body of creditors for Dzata Trust to be sequestrated.
Dzata
Trust's defence,
[11]
The trustees of Dzata Trust opposed the application and contended
that they had never applied for an overdraft facility at
VBS Bank.
They further contended that they had no bank account with VBS Bank.
According to them the bank account which the applicant
relies on was
fraudulently opened and used to finance activities in which Dzata
Trust had no interest.
[12]
The respondents further contended that Dzata Trust never benefited
from the fraudulent scheme alleged by the applicant. The
grounds upon
which the respondents opposed the application are set out in both the
answering affidavit and the supplementary affidavit.
The
sustainability of the grounds set out in the supplementary affidavit
depends firstly on whether the respondents are granted
leave for the
admission of the supplementary affidavit as an additional affidavit.
This is dealt with later in the judgment.
[13]
In paragraph 16 of the answering affidavit, the respondents state the
following:
"16.1
The allegation that there was a factitious credit in the alleged
account is something that I cannot deny nor confirm
on the basis that
I have no knowledge of the bank account. The bank account was not
operated by Dzata Trust through the second
respondent and myself.
6.2.
It is clear from the statement which is alleged to be that of the
Trust (which I deny) that the payment which has been made
in that
account were made to several intuitions and people that Dzata Trust
have no relationship with I do not understand why Dzata
Trust would
pay so much money to people and institutions when there is no
relationship which justifies such payments.
16.3.
The process of effecting factitious credit into the alleged account
obviously has nothing to do with the Second Respondent
and myself in
our own capacities as the trustees. It is clear that if indeed there
was a fraudulent scheme it was perpetuated by
other people without
our knowledge and for their selfish benefit(s)."
[14]
In paragraph 29.3 of the answering affidavit, the respondents state
the following:
"In
the event, even if the Court finds that the Trust has benefited from
the alleged overdraft facility, the Trust is prepared
to pay the
amount which it benefited."
The
issues
[15]
The central issue in this matter is whether, based on the papers
before this court, the applicant has established a
prima
facie
existence of a debt due
and payable by Dzata Trust.
[16]
The other issues listed in the joint practice note filed by the
parties are the following:
(a)
whether the filing of the applicant's replying affidavit deserves
condonation.
(b)
whether the respondents should be permitted to supplement the
answering affidavit and file a counter application.
(c)
whether Dzata Trust's denial of the bank account constitutes a
bona
fide
defence to the
sequestration.
(d)
whether the sequestration should be to the advantage of the body of
creditors.
(e)
whether this court should exercise its discretion of granting
sequestration in favour of the applicant.
(f)
whether Dzata Trust's counterclaim is compatible with its defence.
(g)
whether VBS Bank is a registered as a credit provider.
[17]
I pause to deal with the last issue mentioned above. During the
hearing the respondents' Counsel abandoned the point about
the
registration of VBS Bank as a credit provider in terms of the
National Credit Act. It was, in other words, accepted that VBS
Bank
was registered as a credit provider, and thus that defence fell
away. I also find that all the other technical points
raised by
the respondent relating to the compliance with the National Credit
Act not to have merit.
[18]
The other point that needs brief attention is the condonation
application for the late filing of the replying affidavit. The
application is not opposed. Accordingly, having regard to this fact
and the explanation proffered for the delay and the interest
of
justice, condonation is granted.
The
counter application
and
the supplementary answering affidavit
[19]
The counter application was filed late, and accordingly, the
respondents (the applicant in the counter application) applied
for
condonation for its late filing. This included an application for
leave to file a supplementary answering affidavit.
[20]
The respondent is further seeking to have the purported overdraft
agreement concluded with VBS Bank declared invalid. In the
alternative, should it be found that an overdraft agreement was
concluded with Dzata Trust, such a credit agreement was reckless
credit.
[21]
The respondents further pray to have the registration of the mortgage
bond in favour of VBS Bank over the immovable property
of Dzata Trust
be rescinded and set aside or declared void.
[22]
The respondents seek permission to file the supplementary answering
affidavit to supplement their answering affidavit because
they claim
to have discovered after appointing the current attorneys of record
that the erstwhile attorneys should have advised
them properly about
the defences they should have raised in relation to the applicant's
application.
[23]
The
general rule, dealing with the number of affidavits to be filed in an
application, allows for three sets of affidavits, the
founding,
answering, and replying affidavits. The court does, however, have a
discretion depending on the circumstances of the
case, to depart from
the provision of the rule.
[1]
The
court will exercise the discretion to allow for additional affidavits
if warranted by special circumstances. The party seeking
leave to
have additional affidavit/s admitted by the court has a duty to
provide an explanation for seeking such leave. A proper
and
satisfactory explanation must be provided as to why the information
in the additional affidavit was not provided earlier.
[2]
The authorities are clear that consideration of admission of an
additional affidavit is a matter of fairness to both parties. In
the absence of a satisfactory explanation as to why the information
sought to be introduced by an additional affidavit was omitted
earlier, the admission of such evidence cannot be fair to the other
party.
[24]
In
the present matter, the supplementary affidavit having been filed
more than six months after the applicant filed its replying
affidavit, the question is whether Dzata Trust has satisfied the
requirements for condonation for the late filing of the supplementary
affidavit.
[3]
[25]
The explanation provided by the respondent for the delay in filing
the supplementary affidavit is as follows:
"Upon
a perusal of the papers, both the new attorney and Counsel realised
that there are significant shortcomings with the
existing answering
affidavit which was filed on behalf of the Trust and that there are
sound and good defences in law available
for the Trust, which have
not been raised in the existing answering affidavit.
Consequently,
I was advised about these developments and instructed the attorneys
to immediately do the nary in order to amplify
the Trust's defences.
In this context, I have been advised that it would be necessary for
the Trust to file a supplementary answering
affidavit with which to
supplement the defences, but as an answering affidavit has already
been filed, it would probably be necessary
for the Trust to explain
the reason why a supplementary affidavit has to be filed, and to seek
permission from this Honourable
Court to file the further
supplementary affidavit."
[26]
The reason provided by the respondents which is as stated above was
that they were ill-advised by the erstwhile attorneys and
only
discovered this after appointing the current attorneys of record is
unsustainable and unsatisfactory. The explanation fails
to provide
the court with the necessary information to assist it in determining
the reasonableness of the explanation. The time
when the erstwhile
attorneys withdrew their instruction is not provided leaving the
court in darkness as to at what point did the
attorneys withdraw.
[27]
The new attorneys of record were appointed on 24 January 2022. There
needs to be an explanation as to why it took two months
to file the
supplementary affidavit after their appointment. In essence, the
respondents still need to provide a satisfactory explanation
for the
delay in filing the supplementary affidavit. For this reason, the
application to file the supplementary affidavit stands
to fail.
[28]
I turn to deal with the issue of the counter application, which is
governed by rule 6(7) of the Rules. Rule 6 (7) (a)
provides as
follows:
"[a]ny
party to any application proceedings may bring a counter-application
or may join any party to the same extent as would
be competent if the
party wishing to bring such counter-application or join such party
were a defendant in an action and the other
parties to the
application were parties to such action."
[29]
The rule further provides in sub-rule (b) that, "[t]he periods
prescribed with regard to applications apply to counter
applications:
…"
[30]
It
is trite that rule 6(7) has to be read with rule 24 of the Rules,
which deals with counterclaims and requires a defendant who
counterclaims to deliver a claim in reconvention together with the
plea. Similarly, in motion proceedings a counter-application
must be
filed together with the respondent's answering affidavit. See
Goodhope
Plasters CC v E–Junction Property Developers
,
[4]
where the court held that:
".
. . the first respondent's counter-application should have been filed
together with its answering affidavit on 7 August
2020... . and the
counter-application was accordingly delivered out of time on 26
August 2020."
[31]
It follows that the respondents in the present matter required leave
of the court to file their counter-application because
they failed to
do so when they filed their answering affidavit. The
counter-application was filed after the applicant had filed
the heads
of argument. It is apparent from the reading of the papers before
this court that the counter-application was filed to
address the
deficiencies in the respondents' answering affidavit.
[32]
In my view, the respondents have failed to provide circumstances that
would justify deviation from the general rule that only
three sets of
the affidavit should be permitted in motion proceedings. In other
words, the respondents failed to make a case for
the admission of
supplementary affidavit. The above explanation is undermined further
by what the deponent to the answering affidavit
says at both
paragraphs 1.3 and 1.5 of his affidavit. He states the following in
both paragraphs:
"1.3
The facts contained herein are within my personal knowledge unless
the context may otherwise indicate and are to the best
of my
knowledge and belief both true and correct.
1.4
. . .
1.5.
I confirm that I have perused and understood the allegations
contained in the Applicant's Founding Affidavit."
[33]
In light of the above, I find that the respondents have failed to
show that there are exceptional circumstances warranting
the filing
of further affidavits. In this respect, the prejudice to be suffered
by the applicant outweighs that which will be suffered
by Dzata Trust
if the discretion is exercised against the granting of leave to file
further affidavit. It follows from this conclusion
that the
counter-application also stands to fail. Put in another way; I
am not persuaded that I should exercise my discretion
in favour of
granting leave for Dzata Trust to file further affidavit.
Has
the applicant made out a case for the relief sought?
[34]
As pointed out earlier, the central issue in this matter is whether
the applicant has established the existence of a
prema
facie
debt as envisaged in
terms of
section 9
(1) of the
Insolvency Act 24 of 1936
.
[35]
It
is trite that sequestration proceedings are not designed to resolve a
dispute about the payment of a debt, and thus, sequestration
would be
refused where it is disputed on
bona
fide
grounds.
[5]
The onus is on the applicant to show that a
prima
facie
debt exist. Upon the discharge of the onus by the applicant that
there exists a
prima
facie
debt
it is upon the defendant to show that there is a
bona
fide
defence
against the debt.
[36]
The
general principles governing the approach to dealing with whether a
respondent in a sequestration application has successfully
resisted
the application is set out as follows in GAP Merchants CC v Goal
Reach rading 55 CC:
[6]
"[20]
The rule that winding-up proceedings should not be resorted to as a
means of enforcing payment of a debt the existence
of which is
bona
fide
disputed
on reasonable grounds is part of the broader principle that the
court's processes should not be abused Liquidation proceedings
are
not intended as a means of deciding claims which are genuinely and
reasonably disputed The rule is generally known as the 'Badenhorst
rule', after one of the leading cases on the subject,
Badenhorst
v Northern Construction Enterprises (Pty) Ltd
1956
(2) SA 346
(T)
at 347H-348C A distinction is thus drawn between factual disputes
relating to the respondent's liability to the applicant and
disputes
relating to the other requirements for liquidation At the provisional
stage, the other requirements must be satisfied
on a balance of
probabilities with reference to the affidavits In relation to the
respondent's liability, on the other hand, the
question is whether
the applicant's claim is disputed on reasonable and
bona
fide
grounds;
a court may reach this conclusion even on a balance of probabilities
(based on the papers) the applicant's claim has been
made out
(
Payslip
Investment Holdings CC v Y2K Tec Ltd
2001
(4) SA 781
(C)
at 783G-I) However, where the applicant at the provisional stage
shows that the debt
prima
facie
exists,
the onus is on the company to show that it is
bona
fide
disputed
on reasonable grounds (
Hülse-Reutter
& Another v HEG Consulting Enterprises (Pty) Ltd
1998
(2) SA 208
(C)
at 218D-219C).
[21]
There was some debate before me as to how far a respondent need to go
in order to discharge the burden of proving that a debt
which
is
prima
facie
due
and payable is
bona
fide
disputed
on reasonable grounds. Both parties referred me to statements made by
Thring J in
Hülse-Reutter
supra
.
It is desirable that I quote fully what the learned judge said at
219F-220C:
'I
think that it is important to bear in mind exactly what it is that
the trustees have to establish in order to resist this application
with success Apart from the fact that they dispute the applicants'
claims, and do so
bona
fide
,
which is now common cause, what they must establish is no more and no
less than that the grounds on which they do so are reasonable
They do
not have to establish, even on the probabilities, that the company,
under their direction, will, as a matter of fact, succeed
in any
action which might be brought against it by the applicants to enforce
their disputed claims They do not, in this matter,
have to prove the
company's defence in any such proceedings All they have to satisfy me
of is that the grounds which they advance
for their and their
company's disputing these claims are not unreasonable To do that, I
do not think that it is necessary for them
to adduce on affidavit, or
otherwise, the actual evidence on which they would rely at such a
trial This is not an application for
summary judgment in which, in
terms of Supreme Court
Rule
32(3)
,
a defendant who resists such an application by delivering an
affidavit or affidavits must not only satisfy the Court that he has
a
bona
fide
defence
to the action but in terms of the Rule must also disclose fully in
his affidavit or affidavits "the material facts
relied upon
therefor"…. It seems to me to be sufficient for the
trustees in the present application, as long as they
do so
bona
fide
,
and I must emphasise again that their
bona
fides
are
not here disputed, to allege facts which, if approved at a trial,
would constitute a good defence to the claims made against
the
company Where such facts are not within their personal knowledge, it
is enough, in my view, for them to set out in the affidavit
the basis
on which they make such allegations of fact, provided that they do so
not baldly, but with adequate particularity This
being the case, they
may, in my judgment, refer to documents and to statements made by
other persons without annexing to their
affidavits such documents or
affidavits deposed to by such persons, subject of course to the
qualifications which I have mentioned
and, in particular satisfied,
as it is in this case, of their
bona
fides
.”
[37]
Furthermore,
the applicant has to show that the defendant is factually insolvent
and that its sequestration would be to the advantage
of the body of
creditors.
[7]
[38]
The
requirement of reasonable belief that the sequestration will result
in the advantage of the creditors was defined in Meskin
& Co v
Friedman,
[8]
as follows:
"The
phrase "reason to believe", used as it is in both these
sections, indicates that it is not necessary, either
at the first or
at the final hearing, for the creditor to induce in the mind of the
court a positive view that sequestration will
be to the financial
advantage of creditors. At the final hearing, though the court must
be "satisfied", it is not satisfied
that sequestration will
be to the advantage of creditors, but only that there is reason to
believe that it will be so."
[39]
The court further, at page 559, said:
"In
my opinion, the facts put before the Court must satisfy it that there
is a reasonable prospect – not necessarily
a likelihood, but a
prospect which is not too remote – that some pecuniary benefit
will result to creditors It is not necessary
to prove that the
respondent has any assets Even if there are none at all, but there
are reasons to believe that as a result of
an enquiry under the Act
some may be revealed or recovered for the benefit of creditors, that
is sufficient…".
[9]
[40]
In my view, the applicant has satisfied the requirements for
provisional sequestration of Dzata Trust. The facts before the
court
indicate quite clearly that there exists a debt which the respondents
are unable to pay. Although the VBS Bank could not
produce a copy of
the application for the overdraft agreement between it and Dzata
Trust, the evidence from the bank account supports
the proposition
that an overdraft agreement did exist. This is further supported by
the mortgage bond over the property in Dainfern
and the payment of
the Homeowners Association from the account which the applicant
contends Dzata Trust had with the VBS bank.
[41]
The contention by the respondents that Mr Makhavhu could not transact
for Dzata Trust because he was not a trustee is unsustainable.
The
case of the applicant is not that he was a trustee but rather that he
was authorised by the Trust to represent it in transacting
with the
VBS Bank. The respondents presented no evidence to show that the
payment to the Homeowners Association was not from another
party and
not VBS Bank.
[42]
As mentioned earlier, the mortgage bond was registered in favour of
VBS Bank over the Dainfern property owned by Dzata Trust.
An amount
of R1 000 000.00 was withdrawn from the VBS to service the mortgage
bond. The respondents' bare denial of the payment
and the contention
that the property has been fully paid for cannot in the context of
this matter, sustain a reasonable defence.
What was required of
the respondents in order to sustain a defence in the context of this
application was to provide an explanation
as to how the mortgage bond
over the Dainfern property exists and is registered in the deeds
office in favour of the VBS Bank.
[43]
The facts presented by the applicant show that between February 2016
and August 2016, payments were made from the account into
the
Dainfern Homeowners Association. The first respondent, in his
answering affidavit, obfuscate as to whether the Dainfern property
belongs to him or the Trust. He, at one level, sought to distance
himself from the ownership of the property by stating that he
did not
know the address of the property or that he and the second respondent
stay in Limpopo. This does not assist the case of
the respondents
because there is an admission that the Dzata Trust owns the property.
In fact, annexure FA4 contains a resolution
by Dzata Trust for the
purchase of the property and appointing Mr Makhavhu to act on its
behalf to effect the transfer of the property.
Annexure FA13 contains
a resolution authorising Mr Makhavhu to pass a mortgage bond over the
property in favour of the VBS Bank.
[44]
The other difficulty confronting the case of the respondents is that
except for a bare denial, they fail to explain the transaction
appearing in the account with VBS Bank and, more particularly, those
appearing in the statement in December 2016. The weakness
of this
denial is that it is not made by the person who was involved in the
banking transaction, Mr Makhavhu. In the absence of
an affidavit by
Mr Makhavhu, explaining the transaction and why it is denied, there
is no evidentiary value to the denial, thus
the denial stands to be
rejected.
[45]
The respondents have also failed to explain several entries on the
bank statement which concerned the payment of a motor vehicle
Range
Rover.
[46]
In conclusion, there is clear evidence linking the Dzata Trust to the
VBS account, the mortgage bond over the Dainfern property,
the
payment of the Range Rover and the names of the respondents and Mr
Makhavhu on the bank statements. Thus the conclusion to
draw is that
either the bank account belonged to Dzata Trust or even if the bank
account did not belong to Dzata Trust it benefited
from the payment
made from the bank account.
[47]
On the proper analysis of the facts of this matter it is clear that
Dzata Trust is indebted to VBS Bank in an amount exceeding
R100.00
The denial of the debt by the respondents is not reasonable or
bona
fide.
[48]
As concerning the issue of whether sequestration would benefit the
body of creditors, the only evidence before this court is
that the
asset owned by Dzata Trust is the Dainfern property. The value of
this property, according to the applicant, is lower
than the debt
owed to VBS Bank. The respondents have disputed the value of the
property by the applicant but have failed to substantiate
this
contention. There is also evidence suggesting the existence of other
assets belonging to Dzata Trust. On the face of it, there
are other
transactions in the bank statements that may require some
investigation. It will accordingly be in the interest of the
body of
creditors that Dzata Trust be placed under provisional liquidation.
[49]
In light of the above, I make the following findings:
(a)
the applicant has a liquidated claim against Dzata Trust.
(b)
Dzata Trust is factually insolvent in that the value of its
liabilities (fairly valued) exceeds the value of its assets (fairly
valued); and
(c)
there is reason to believe that sequestration will be to the
advantage of the creditors of Dzata Trust if the estate is
sequestration, as envisaged in 10(c) of the
Insolvency Act.
Order
[50]
In the premises the following order is made:
1.
The late filing of the applicant's replying affidavit is
condoned;
2.
The respondents’ application for leave to allow the
filing of the supplementary affidavit is dismissed.
3.
The respondents' counter-application is dismissed;
4.
The estate of Dzata Trust, with Master's reference number
IT00020/2010, is provisionally sequestrated and placed in the
hands
of the Master of the High Court; Johannesburg.
4.
A rule nisi is issued, returnable on 29 August 2023 whereby any
interested party is called upon to show cause why Dzata trust
and or
the respondents should not be finally sequestrated.
5.
This order is to be served on:
5.1
the first and second respondents.
5.2
the Master of the High Court, Johannesburg and the South African
Revenue Services;
5.3
the South African Revenue Services, Pretoria, Costs to be costs in
the administration of the insolvent estate.
E
Molahlehi
Judge
of the High Court,
Gauteng
Local Division,
Johannesburg.
Fo
r
the applicant:
Emiel
van Vuuren SC
Instructed
by:
Werksman
Attorneys
For
the respondents:
MP
Van der Merwe SC
Instructed
by:
Thovhakale
Attorneys.
Date
heard: 6 February 2023.
Delivered:
05 July 2023
[1]
See James Brown and the Simons NO 1963, [4] SA. 656 at 660 D –
G.
[2]
See
Standard
Bank of South Africa v Sewpersadh
2005
(4) SA 148
(C) at 154.
[3]
See
Makgalemele
v The Road Accident Fund
(JR
1676/14) [2015] ZALCJHB 198 (30 June 2015) and
Q
uentin
Lessing v Quanza Holdings (Pty) Ltd
(2362/2018)
[2019] ZAECMHC 10 (28 February
2019.
[4]
[2020]
ZANCHC1 62 At paragraph 48.
[5]
See
Trinity Asset Management (Pty) Ltd v Grindstone Investment 132 (Pty)
Ltd
2018 (1) SA 94
at par 27.
[6]
2016
(1) SA 261
(WCC) at paragraph 20 and 21.
[7]
See
Trinity Asset Management (Pty) Ltd v Grindstone Investment 132 (Pty)
Ltd
2018 (1) SA 94
at par 27.
[8]
2016
(1) SA 261
(WCC) at paragraph 20 and 21.
[9]
See
also
See
Dunlop Tyres (Pty) Ltd v Brewitt 1999(2) SA 580 (W) at 583.)
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