Case Law[2024] ZAGPPHC 473South Africa
Milazi and Another v South African Legal Practice the Council and Another (45162/2019) [2024] ZAGPPHC 473 (22 May 2024)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
25 February 2024
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## Milazi and Another v South African Legal Practice the Council and Another (45162/2019) [2024] ZAGPPHC 473 (22 May 2024)
Milazi and Another v South African Legal Practice the Council and Another (45162/2019) [2024] ZAGPPHC 473 (22 May 2024)
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sino date 22 May 2024
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
CASE
NO: 45162/2019
(1)
REPORTABLE: NO
(2)
OF INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
(3)
REVISED:
DATE:
22/05/24
SIGNATURE
In
the matter between:
PHINDILE
PATRICIA MILAZI
First
Applicant
PP
MILAZI
INCORPORATED
Second
Applicant
And
SOUTH
AFRICAN LEGAL PRACTICE THE COUNCIL
First
Respondent
THE
SHERIFF ROODEPOORT SOUTH
Second
Respondent
In
re:
SOUTH
AFRICAN LEGAL PRACTICE THE COUNCIL
Applicant
and
PHINDILE
PATRICIA
MILAZI
First
Respondent
PP
MILAZI
INCORPORATED
Second
Respondent
This
judgment is deemed to have been delivered electronically by
circulation to the parties’ representatives via email and
the
same shall be uploaded onto the caselines system.
JUDGMENT
MOGAGABE AJ
Introduction
[1]
This is an application by the applicants to rescind the judgment and
order granted
by Wesley AJ on 25 February 2021, in terms of which he
appointed a curator bonis, to
among other things,
control and
administer the applicants’ trust affairs.
[2]
The rescission application is resisted by the first respondent, the
South African
Legal Practice Council (the Council), as more fully
outlined hereafter.
Background
[3]
The first applicant is a duly admitted attorney of this court and has
practiced as
such for almost twenty years and a director of the
second applicant. The second applicant is a juristic entity and
a law
firm through which the first applicant conducts a legal
practice as an attorney. The Council, which is cited as the
first
respondent herein, is a body corporate with full legal capacity
that exercises jurisdiction and oversight over all legal
practitioners
as so contemplated in the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014
(the Act).
[4]
The facts and circumstances of this case, that resulted in the
granting of the judgment
and order, forming the subject matter of the
present rescission application, are comprehensively set out in the
judgment of Wesley
AJ, delivered on 25 February 2024.
[1]
It is unnecessary for present purposes to rehash same, save where
relevant and apposite for present purposes. The applicants
opposed this application and belatedly filed, in compliance with a
court order their answering affidavit with a condonation
application.
In the answering affidavit applicants amongst
other things, tendered the inspection of their trust affairs.
After the Council
had filed its replying papers, and despite the
aforesaid tender the applicants declined to co-operate with the
Council’s
further attempt at inspection of their trust affairs.
[5]
On 15 February 2021, the matter served before Wesley AJ.
Applicants’ legal
representative (attorney) requested a
postponement of the matter based on the first applicant being booked
off sick until 17 February
2021 and thus unable to give him (the
attorney) instructions. Wesley AJ stood down the matter to 18
February 2021.
On 18 February 2021 applicants’ attorney
again requested a postponement based on the first applicant’s
illness. Wesley
AJ refused such postponement, whereafter the
applicants’ attorney withdrew as such, on the basis that he had
no instructions
to argue the merits of the application. The court
proceeded to hear the matter, whereafter judgment was reserved.
[6]
On 25 February 2021, Wesley AJ delivered judgment on 25 February
2021, in terms of
which he made the order as aforesaid.
[7]
This rescission application was served and launched on 19 April
2021. In May
2021 the Council filed its answering affidavit in
opposition thereto. Since then, the applicants have not filed a
replying
affidavit or taken any steps in furtherance of the matter.
The Council filed its Heads of Argument, Practice Note, Chronology
and
List of Authorities in August 2021 in compliance with the
Practice Directive of this Division. On 30 October 2023, a court
order
was issued compelling applicants to file their Heads of
Argument, Practice Note, Chronology and List of Authorities within
ten
days from the date thereof. In non-compliance thereof, applicants
failed to do so. On 19 January 2024, the Council took the
initiative to set the matter down for hearing on the opposed motion
roll on 29 April 2024. The Notice of set down was served on
the
applicants' attorneys of record on the same day.
Supervening events
before the hearing of the matter
[8]
On Friday 26 April 2024, I caused a directive to be issued advising
the parties that
the matter (which was set down for adjudication on
Monday 29 April 2024) was allocated for hearing on Thursday 2 May
2024 at 14h00.
[9]
Applicants’ attorneys of record, Maesela Incorporated filed a
formal notice
of withdrawal as applicants' attorneys on 26 April
2024, without furnishing any reasons for such withdrawal.
[10]
On the same day, the first applicant dispatched an email to the
Council’s attorneys, advising
them that they intend removing
the matter from the roll of 29 April 2024, due to the withdrawal of
their attorney to “afford
us time to instruct new attorneys to
assist us in pursuing the matter further”. On the same day, the
Council’s attorneys
responded declining such a request.
[11]
On Monday 29 April 2024, the first applicant despatched an email for
my attention via my Registrar,
in terms of which she “
sought
permission of the court to remove the matter from the roll [of 2 May
2024] to another date in the near future as the is
not
urgent
”, on the basis that due to their attorneys of record
having withdrawn from the matter they “
are currently
unrepresented and accordingly unable to proceed with the matter on 2
May 2024
”. I need to highlight the fact the first applicant
was aware as per my directive of 26 April, that this matter was
allocated
for hearing on 2 May, having regard to the contents of para
1 of her email to the following effect: “
We are the
applicants in the above matter which is set down for hearing on 2 May
2024
”.
[12]
As such, the first applicant having the requisite notice and
knowledge of the date of hearing of the
matter, elected (as an
attorney with more than twenty years of experience)
[2]
not to attend or participate in the proceedings.
[13]
Despite this informal and inappropriate procedure adopted by
applicants in directly communicating with
the court requesting the
removal of the matter, I instructed my Registrar to address an email
to the first applicant in response
thereto (copying the Council’s
attorneys of record) declining such request and indicating that all
parties are required to
attend court on the day of the allocated
hearing thereof (i.e. 2 May 2024 at 14h00) to deal with the matter.
On 30 April, the Council’s
attorneys responded via email,
taking serious exception to the first applicant addressing the letter
to the court (via my Registrar,
without copying them) and objected to
the removal of the matter.
[14]
As the Council’s attorneys had objected to the first
applicant’s request for the removal
of the matter and in the
absence of a formal notice on the part of the first applicant seeking
leave of the court for the removal
of the matter, there existed no
basis to deal with the removal of the matter from the roll ie grant
or refuse the leave to remove
the matter from the roll. Absent
consent of the parties (i.e. agreement of the parties) the court
retains a discretion whether
to allow or refuse the removal of the
matter from the roll after the set down thereof. Generally, an
applicant is allowed
or permitted to remove a matter from the roll,
subject to the court’s discretion and an appropriate order as
to costs, unless
the removal is prejudicial to the other party or
constitutes an abuse of the process of the law or a disingenuous
attempt to frustrate
or delay the implementation of the judgment and
order sought to be rescinded. Unless with the agreement of the
parties, it
is not permissible for a party to remove a case from the
roll without leave of the court.
[15]
On 2 May 2024 at 14h00, this matter was called. Mr Stoker
appeared on behalf of the Council and
there was no appearance on
behalf of the applicants, despite their names being called three
times outside the courtroom. In the
absence of a formal notice of
removal or an application for postponement, the matter proceeded, and
Mr Stoker appeared on behalf
of the Council.
[16]
Insofar as it pertains to the issue of the election of a party to be
present or absent, at the hearing
of a matter, it is apposite in the
circumstances to refer to the pronouncement of the Constitutional
Court to the following effect:
“…
As
I see it, the issue of presence or absence has nothing to do with
actual, or physical presence and everything to do with ensuring
that
proper procedure is followed so that a party can be present, and so
that a party, in the event that they are precluded from
participating, physical or otherwise, may be entitled to rescission
in the event that an error is committed, I accept this.
I do
not, however, accept that litigants can be allowed to butcher, of
their own will, judicial process which in all other respects
has been
carried out with the utmost degree of regularity, only to then ipso
facto (by that same act), plead the ‘absent
victim’.
If everything turned on actual presence, it will be entirely too easy
for litigants to render void every judgment
and order ever to be
granted, by merely electing absentia (absence).”
[3]
[17] It
bears mentioning that since the improper and unprocedural
communication via email by the first applicant
requesting the removal
of the matter, there is nothing on record indicating that she was
precluded or prevented from attending
court on Thursday 2 May 2024.
The merits of the
rescission application
[18]
After this somewhat protracted prelude, I turn now to deal with the
merits of the rescission application.
I deem it apposite upfront to
point out that this rescission application falls to be decided based
on two sets of affidavits i.e.
the founding affidavit of the
applicants and the answering affidavit of the Council, the applicants
having failed or elected for
almost three years (since May 2021), not
to file a replying affidavit. The position in such instances in
applying the Plascon-Evans
rule is that these being motion
proceedings, in the event of factual disputes arising on the
affidavits, “a final order can
be granted only if the facts
averred in the applicants’ affidavits, which have been admitted
by the respondent …,
together with the facts alleged by the
latter, justify such an order,”
[4]
unless the respondent’s version consists of bald or
uncreditworthy denials, raises fictitious disputes of fact, is
palpably implausible, far-fetched or so clearly untenable that the
court is justified in rejecting such version on the papers.
[5]
In essence then given the failure by the first applicant to file a
replying affidavit disputing or gainsaying the material
allegations
contained in the answering affidavit, such material averments or
assertions, falls to be accepted as undisputed or
uncontroverted in
the circumstances, unless the version of the Council is “so
far-fetched or clearly untenable that the court
is justified in
rejecting it merely on the papers.
[6]
[19]
It is important to bear in mind that the applicants seek the
rescission of the said judgment by Wesley
AJ based on the common law
and not based on Rule 42(1)(a) or Rule 31(2)(b) of the Uniform Rules
of Court.
Principles governing
rescission.
[20]
Under the common law, to succeed an applicant for rescission of a
default judgment is required to show
good cause. Although the
authorities emphasise that it is unwise to give a precise meaning to
the term “good cause”,
the courts generally expect an
applicant to show good cause: by giving a reasonable explanation of
his/her default and by showing
that the application is made
bona
fide
and by establishing or showing that he or she has a
bona
fide
defence to the claim, which
prima
facie
has some prospect of success. A court has a wide discretion in
evaluating “good cause” to ensure that justice
is done,
and such discretion must be exercised after a proper consideration of
all the relevant circumstances.
[7]
Failure to meet one of them is fatal to the rescission
application. In other words, a party who fails to show prospects of
success on the merits, will not succeed in a rescission application,
even though he/she has furnished a reasonable and satisfactory
explanation for the default.
[8]
[21]
The primary question for determination is whether the applicants have
satisfied the requirements under the
common law, to rescind the said
judgment and order of Wesley AJ.
[22]
The first applicant contends that her failure to attend court on 15
and 18 February 2021, was due to
the fact that she had contracted the
Covid-19 virus at her late mother’s funeral, who died of
COVID-19-related complications
on 27 January 2021. Subsequent thereto
she consulted a certain Dr Tharique Bux who diagnosed her as
suffering from Covid pneumonia
and booked her off sick until 17
February. On 17 Feb she once more consulted Dr. Bux who diagnosed her
as suffering from “post
COVID- 19 malaise and weakness”.
Further, she diagnosed her as “being totally indisposed for
duty”. In
her founding affidavit, she refers to annexures
“
PPM2”
and “PPM3”
thereto,
as copies of Dr. Bux's medical certificates in support thereof.
However, same are not annexed to the founding affidavit.
I share some
reservation in the absence of proof thereof. However, I am of
the considered view that (a) having regard to
the undisputed evidence
of the first applicant in her founding affidavit of being afflicted
with the COVID-19 virus during the
period when the main application
was set down for hearing on 15 February 2021 and stood down for
hearing to 18 February 2021; (b)
the first applicant’s
undisputed assertion of her attorney having emailed the Council’s
attorneys the said medical
certificate of Dr. Bux and (c) Wesley AJ
confirmation in his judgment of attorney Maesela (applicants’
erstwhile attorney)
being in possession of the medical certificates
of Dr. Bux on 15 and 18 February, when he addressed Wesley AJ
regarding first applicant’s
COVID-19 related illness and as
such requested the postponement of the matter
[9]
,
I am of the view that such doubt should redound to the benefit of the
first applicant regarding the explanation for the default.
This
being so, I thus accept in favour of the first applicant she has
given a reasonable explanation for the default.
[23]
I turn now to deal with the other requirements, namely whether the
applicants have shown or established
that the application is made
bona fide, and they have a bona fide defence to the claim (main
application) which
prima facie
has some prospects of success.
[24]
In this regard, the applicants contend that the main application
suffered from several substantive
and procedural defects, arising
from the Council’s non-compliance or failure to comply with the
statutory requirements of
the Act as more outlined hereafter.
[25]
It is noteworthy to highlight that most of the defences raised by
applicants in support of the rescission
applications ie on the merits
of the rescission application are substantively similar or the same
as those raised in opposing the
main application that served before
Wesley AJ as aforesaid. In essence, the defences raised or
advanced by applicants on
the merits of the matter i.e. in support of
the rescission application are substantively a rehash or repetition
of substantively
the same defences so dealt with by Wesley AJ in the
main application. As such, in disposing thereof, reference will
be made
to the judgment of Wesley AJ delivered on 25 February 2021
where necessary, to avoid repetition and prolixity.
[26]
I point out that rehashing or replicating same by applicants in
support of their rescission application
does not make them look
better nor lend any credence to their validity or propriety or for
that matter magically render them
bona fide
or meritorious
defences. These grounds are more relevant or apposite for appeal
purposes i.e. for purposes of appealing the judgment
and order of
Wesley AJ and not for purposes of a rescission application, as more
fully demonstrated hereinafter.
The purported defences
The
Council’s non-compliance with the provisions of section
87(2)(a) of the Act
[27]
Section 87(2)(a) of the Act provides that:
“
The
Council or the Board may, itself or through its nominee, at the cost
of the Council or the Board, inspect the accounting records
of any
trust account practice in order to satisfy itself that the provisions
of section 86 and subsection (1) are being complied
with.”
[28]
The applicants contend that the Council ought to have followed the
provision of section 87(2)(a) by
first inspecting the accounting
records of the applicants’ trust account practice to satisfy
itself that the first applicant
has complied with the provisions of
section 86(1) of the Act, instead of launching the section 89
application (main application).
As such applicants assert that
the main application was in the circumstances premature in that the
Council acted prematurely by
firstly launching the main application
instead of first inspecting applicants’ accounting records.
For the reasons
set out by Wesley J in paras 18 to 22 of his
judgment, this purported defence is in the circumstances misplaced
and thus unmeritorious.
In any event, nowhere in section 87 and
in particular section 87(2)(a) of the Act is reference made of a
section 89 application
being preceded by an inspection of the
accounting records of a trust account practice, as so contemplated in
section 87(2)(a) of
the Act.
Non-compliance
with the provisions of section 90 of the Act
[29]
Section 90(4) of the Act provides that a court may only grant an
application made by
inter alia
a Council appoint a curator
bonis to control and administer the trust account of a legal
practitioner on good cause shown by the
Council and after having
given the trust account practice an opportunity to respond to such
application in writing.
[30]
The defence advanced by the applicants in this regard is that the
Council launched the main application
(section 89 application) for
the appointment of a curator bonis in non-compliance with the
provisions of section 90(4) of the Act,
by failing to afford the
applicants an opportunity to respond in writing to the section 89
application, before an order can be
made in terms of subsection (1)
or subsection (2) of section 90 of the Act. Allied thereto is
the contention that the Council
has nonetheless failed to establish
“good cause” for the grant of such application as so
contemplated in section 90(4)
of the Act.
[31]
This purported defence is likewise misconceived and without substance
whatsoever, simply on the basis
that the main application (section 89
application) is substantively different from an application
contemplated in terms of section
90(1) or (2) requiring the trust
account practice to be afforded an opportunity to respond in writing
thereto before an order can
be made pursuant to the provisions of
section 90(1) or (2) of the Act. Wesley AJ in paras 22 to 24 of
his judgment also rejected
such an argument on the same basis.
Non-compliance by the
Council with the provisions of sections 5, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 43 of
the Act
[32]
In a desperate attempt to bolster the rescission application and for
purposes of showing a
bona fide
defence to the main
application, the applicants raise the purported defences of
non-compliance by the Council with the provisions
of sections 5, 37,
38, 39, 40, and 43 of the Act before launching or initiating the main
application. Such purported reliance on
these provisions of the Act
is in the circumstances not only misguided, and misconceived, but
also unsound in fact and law, in
that all these provisions have no
application or relevance
in casu
. This is so in that
section 5 deals with the objects of Council; section 37 deals with
the establishment of disciplinary
bodies by the Council; section 38
relates to the procedure for dealing with complaints of misconduct by
legal practitioners and/or
legal practice accounts; section 39 deals
with the procedure to be followed and the rights of a legal
practitioner summoned to
any disciplinary hearing by a disciplinary
committee where or when charged with misconduct and to be afforded an
opportunity to
inter alia
be heard, to call and cross-examine
witnesses tendered or led in support of the misconduct charged;
section 40 relates to the procedure
to be followed after a
disciplinary hearing and sanctions meted out; and finally section 43
dealing with urgent legal proceedings
and the suspension of a legal
practitioner.
[33]
In a nutshell, the contentions advanced herein are to the effect that
the Council did not comply with
the principle of
audi
vis-à-vis the applicants, before initiating or launching the
main application. Such purported reliance on the part
of
applicants on these provisions of the Act for purposes of showing
bona fide
defences to the main application is demonstrative of
a desperate attempt on the part of applicants to salvage a lost cause
if not
to shore up misguided or misconceived defences. There
existed no need in the circumstances for the Council to conduct a
disciplinary
hearing against applicants before initiating the main
application. Same may, if need be, be conducted in due course.
In any event, it ill behoves applicants and in particular first
applicant to contend that she was not afforded
audi
i.e. an
opportunity to respond to the complaints against her. On the
contrary, she was afforded such an opportunity and filed
answering
papers opposing the main application in which she traversed and
engaged with the allegations so levelled against her
in the main
application. It also ill behoves the first applicant to contend
that she was found guilty by the Council or that
her constitutional
rights have been violated by the Council launching the main
application. In essence, these factually and
legally unsound
defences merely need to be restated to be rejected.
Accounting
records
[34]
Insofar as it pertained to the applicants and in particular first
applicant’s accounting records,
Wesley AJ correctly found
amongst other things, that her accounting records were not available
for inspection and she failed to
make same available to the Council
and to its inspector Ms Mpete, coupled with the fact that first
applicant failed to co-operate
with Ms Mpete during such inspection.
Furthermore, Wesley AJ correctly found that the first applicant
initially tendered
to make her accounting records available to the
Council for inspection, whereafter she reneged on such tender and
declined to do
so. Such reneging demonstrates not only bad
faith on the first applicant's part but also a disingenuous tactic
designed to
frustrate or delay the inspection of her accounting
records.
Further or Miscellaneous
defences
[35]
In para 7.19 of the founding affidavit, the first applicant asserts
that “part of the reasons
we are applying for rescission of
this judgment is the very fact that the Court condones without just
cause, the first respondent’s
inclination to act with impunity
in [the] administration of the Act”. It is important to
highlight the fact that this is
one of the general accusations
levelled against the Council, without specifying in what respects the
council has “acted with
impunity in the administration of the
Act” and the extent thereof. In the absence of any specific
evidence substantiating
this complaint, same does not constitute a
defence let alone a bona fide defence to the main application,
entitling applicants
to the relief sought herein.
[36]
In para 14 of the founding affidavit, the first applicant contends
with reference to para 54 of the
judgment, that Wesley AJ misdirected
himself by granting an order not prayed for by the council, without
the council amending its
notice of motion, which conduct constitutes
an irregularity on his part. Such complaint, likewise, is misguided
if not misplaced
in that a proper reading and analysis of para 54 of
the judgment clearly indicates that Wesley AJ correctly declined to
grant the
relief sought by the council in the notice of motion, on
the basis that same fell outside the ambit of a section 89
application.
As such, Wesley AJ declined to grant the alternative
relief sought in prayer 1 of the Notice of motion, authorising Mr
Johan van
Staden, the envisaged curator bonis, to nominate a curator
bonis, on the basis that the power or competence to do so, vests in
the court in terms of section 89 of the Act. The first applicant does
not state or specify the order that Wesley AJ granted, which
was not
prayed for by the Council. There existed no need in the circumstances
to amend the notice of motion.
[37]
In para 16 of the founding affidavit, the first applicant avers that
the order granted in para 58 of
the judgment is inconsistent with the
provisions of the Constitution in that the court is not vested with
such powers in terms
of the Act and the common law. Once more, the
first applicant does not specify which provision of the Constitution
has been infringed.
Furthermore, the order so granted by Wesley AJ
was in accordance with the provisions of section 89 of the Act. The
Act grants the
court wide powers to protect the interests of the
general public.
[38]
Insofar as it pertains to the contention that the council has failed
to show “good cause”
in support of the section 89
application, this aspect was comprehensively dealt with by Wesley AJ
as per paras 27 to 49 of his
judgment.
[39]
The complaint that Wesley AJ’s judgment “deprives the
first applicant of her rights as
provided in the Bill of Rights and
particularly section 33 thereof”, is likewise unfounded and
misguided for the following
reasons. Firstly, she does not specify in
what respects her constitutional rights and in particular the section
33 rights had been
violated. Secondly, she was afforded an
opportunity to respond to the allegations in the founding affidavit
of the council and
filed the answering affidavit in response thereto.
COSTS
[40]
Wesley AJ granted the applicants' condonation application for failure
to file their answering affidavit
timeously and ordered the
applicants to pay the costs thereof. Furthermore, he ordered the
applicants to pay the costs of the main
application on an attorney
and client scale, including the costs reserved on the 15
th
of February 2021. The first applicant challenges both costs orders.
In respect of the costs relating to the condonation application,
the
first applicant merely contends that same should be rescinded,
without advancing any basis or grounds to set aside same. Absent
any
basis or grounds for setting aside such a costs order, the challenge
concerning such a costs order must fail. In any
event, in
seeking condonation for the late filing of their answering papers,
the applicants were seeking the court’s indulgence
and
generally should be liable for the costs of such application.
[41]
Insofar as it pertains to the costs order in respect of the main
application, the first applicant contends
that same should be
rescinded on the basis that her non-appearance on the 18
th
of February 2021, was not due to any wilfulness on her part but as a
result of her illness as aforesaid. This argument is misplaced
in
that this costs order was not awarded based on her non-appearance on
the 18
th
of February, but by virtue of the fact that the
Council had prayed for same in the notice of motion and was
successful in obtaining
the relief sought against the applicants ie
costs followed the result.
[42]
It cannot be gainsaid that the analysis of the founding affidavit of
the applicants in support of the
rescission application, shows that
the first applicant has raised unmeritorious, misconceived and
misguided defences, designed
to frustrate if not delay the
implementation of the judgment and order of Wesley AJ. Such a
disingenuous stratagem, designed
to frustrate or delay the
implementation of the judgment and order of Wesley AJ, cannot in the
circumstances be countenanced.
[43]
As such, this demonstrates that the application is not made bona fide
and that the applicants have
failed to show that they have a bona
fide defence(s) to the main application ie have failed to show
prospects of success on the
merits to have the main application
re-litigated. In other words, the applicants’ prospects of
success in casu are so remote,
with the attendant consequences that
same cannot be regarded as constituting bona fide defence(s). In any
case, the insurmountable
hurdle confronting the applicants,
particularly the first applicant is that in terms of the law
governing rescission applications,
it is impermissible for a litigant
to seek to invoke the rescission process to secure a rehearing of the
merits (ie to re-litigate
the main application), simply because in
the case of a final and definitive judgment (as is in casu), whether
by default or not,
after the merits had been traversed, the court is
regarded as functus officio.
[10]
[44]
In the circumstances, the applicants have failed to show “good
cause” as so required for
a rescission order in terms of the
common law.
CONCLUSION
[45]
In the result, I make the following order:
[45.1] The
application for rescission of the default judgment issued against the
applicants on 25 February 2021 is dismissed.
[45.2] The
applicants jointly and severally to pay the costs of this
application, on scale B.
SJR MOGAGABE
ACTING JUDGE OF THE HIGH
COURT
GAUTENG DIVISION,
PRETORIA
Appearances:
Counsel
for applicants:
no
appearance.
Attorney
for applicants:
R
E Maesela (attorney) of Maesela Inc (withdrawn)
Counsel
for the first respondent:
Mr
R Stoker
Attorney
for the first respondent:
R
W Attorneys Inc
Date
of hearing:
2
May 2024
Date
of Judgment:
22
May 2024.
[1]
Caselines Judgment sec 012-899 & 936-941.
[2]
CaseLines
sec 15-0003-6 FA of first applicant para 6.1.
[3]
Zuma
v Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations
of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector
including Organs of State
(CCT
52/21)
[2021] ZACC 28
;
2021 (11) BCLR 1263
(CC) (17 September 2021)
para [60]. (
Zuma
rescission case).
[4]
Plascon-Evans
Paints v Van Riebeek Paints
[1984] ZASCA 51
;
1984
(3) SA 623
(A) paras 634E-635C.
[5]
Plascon-Evans
supra;
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v Zuma
[2009] ZASCA 1
;
2009 (2) SA 277
(SCA) para 26.
[6]
Botha
v Law Society, Northern Provinces
2009
(1) SA 277
(SCA) para 4.
[7]
Chetty
v Law Society, Transvaal
1985 (2) SA 756
(A);
Colyn
v Tiger Foods Industries Ltd t/a Meadow Feeds Mills (Cape)
2003 (6) SA 1
(SCA) paras [11] – [12];
Dombo
Community v Tshakuma Community Trust
[2018] ZASCA 190
(19 Dec 2018) para 10.
[8]
Zuma
rescission case paras [71]-[73].
[9]
See Judgment of Wesley AJ sec 012 pp728-729 paras 6 & 7
[10]
Zuma
rescission case para [68]
sino noindex
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