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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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[2023] ZAGPPHC 157
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## Legal Practice Counsel of South Africa v Mashaba and Another
[2023] ZAGPPHC 157; 88175/2018 (27 February 2023)
Legal Practice Counsel of South Africa v Mashaba and Another
[2023] ZAGPPHC 157; 88175/2018 (27 February 2023)
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sino date 27 February 2023
REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
CASE
NO
:
88175/2018
REPORT
ABLE: YES/NO
OF
INTERESTTO OTHER JUDGES: NO
REVISED:
NO
27/02/2023
In
the matter between
:
##### THE
LEGAL PRACTICE COUNSEL OF SOUTH AFRICAAPPLICANT
THE
LEGAL PRACTICE COUNSEL OF SOUTH AFRICA
APPLICANT
and
##### LODWICK
MAKGAHLELAMASHABAFIRST RESPONDENT
LODW
I
CK
MAKGAHLELA
MASHABA
FIRST RESPONDENT
#####
##### MASHABA
MAKGAHLELAATTORNEYSSECOND RESPONDENT
MASHABA
MAKGAHLELA
ATTORNEYS
SECOND RESPONDENT
JUDGMENT
Van
der Schyff J (Lenyai AJ concurring)
Introduction
[1]
The first respondent was suspended from practising as an attorney on
8 January 2019
.
The applicant
subsequently took control and possession of the respondents
'
files. The
applicant seeks an order striking the first respondent off the roll
of attorneys
.
[2]
I
do
not intend to deal with each allegation contained
in the
founding
and
supplementary
affidavits
filed by the applicant
,
but only to
highlight the most pertinent. In
the founding
affidavit
,
the applicant,
inter alia
,
averred
that:
i.
there is a
substantial deficit in the respondent's bookkeeping
,
the respondent
failed to retain proper accounting records in respect of his
practice
,
and
contravened
several
provisions
of
the [then] Attorney
'
s
Act
,
Rules
of the [then] Attorneys Profession and Law Society
'
s
Rules relating to bookkeeping
;
ii.
prima facie
there
appeared to be a trust deficit of R4 673 580
.
66
as at 28 February 2018
;
iii.
the respondent
misappropriated
trust
funds
;
iv.
the
respondent
failed
to
account
to
clients
;
v.
the respondent
delayed
payment of trust funds
;
vi.
the respondent
overreached
clients
;
vii.
serious
compla
i
nts
were received
against the
first respondent.
[3]
A serious issue that the applicant's auditor discovered is that the
certificate of
balance provided in relation to the first respondent's
trust account reflected a balance of R31 504
.
19
at 29 February 2016
,
whilst the
firm
'
s
trust bank statements for the period 29 February 2016 to 31 March
2016 reflected an opening balance of reflected a balance of
R4 669
810
.
39
.
The
certificate of balance dated 28 February 2017 reflected the firm's
banking account balance as at 28 February 2017 as R552 530
.
74
,
whilst copies
of the trust bank statements indicated that the balance of the firm
'
s
trust bank
i
ng
account as at 28 February 2017 was R 5 552 530
.
74
.
The firm
'
s
trust accounting records reflected the opening cash book balance as
at 1 March 2017 as R 5 552 530
.
74
.
[4]
The applicant also takes issue with the fact that a number of
payments allegedly received
from
the Road
Accident Fund (RAF)
,
is not
identified
o
t
he
r
than by
the
reference
'
RAF
payment'
.
Several client
complaints are referenced in the founding affidavit. It is
,
amongst
others
,
evident that
the bookkeeping system utilised by the respondents was totally
inadequate and payments received from the RAF were generally
allocated to a general account
'
Road
Acc
i
dent
Deposits
'.
[5]
No accounting
records were available for the years 2013 and 2014
.
The LPC
i
n
addition received complaints from the RAF that the second respondent
lodged duplicate claims with the RAF
.
The first
respondent denied any knowledge regarding the submission of duplicate
claims and alleged h
i
s
signature was fals
i
fied
on the submission documents
.
[6]
The
applicant's auditor concluded that the accounting records prepared by
the auditor of the second respondent for the period 1
March 2016 to
28 February 2018 are not reliable
.
Where he was
able to determine the values of the trust bank balances at certain
dates
,
these
values disagreed w
i
th
the values in
t
he
trust account
i
ng
records
.
The
LPC
'
s
investigation indicated that the
i
r
aud
i
tor
could no
t
identify any
costs tha
t
the
firm recovered from the RAF when
i
t
submitted cla
i
ms
against the RAF on behalf of clients
.
The firm
fa
i
led
to communicate with trust creditors after receipt of
t
heir
claim funds from the RAF
.
The trust
cred
i
tors
were e
i
ther
paid late
,
in
instalments
,
or were paid
by business cheques
.
On numerous
occasions the firm raised VAT twice on the disbursements deb
i
ted
aga
i
nst
cl
i
ents
'
accounts
.
[7]
A
supplementary affidavit was filed by the appl
i
cant
in January 2019
,
where
i
n
additiona
l
complaints
rece
i
ved
from former clients of the
r
espondents
were included
.
[8]
The respondents filed
an answering affidavit in February 2019
.
The
respondents denied that a shortfall e
xi
sted
in relation to the firm
'
s
trust banking account
,
and avers that
there were sufficient funds at all mater
i
al
times to meet his trust obligations
.
The first
respondent admitted that he failed to render timeous a
c
counts
to certa
i
n
clients
.
He
submitted that he could not be held respons
i
ble
fo
r
the
err
o
neous
information con
t
ained
in the Certificates of Balance
i
ssued
by th
e
Ban
k
that did not
reflect the balance of this trust bank account. He also
i
ndicated
that a number of the complaints raised by clients were subsequently
amicably resolved
.
The
first respondent stated that he changed his bookkeeping system from
'
Excel
'
to
'
Pastel
'
as recommended
by the applicant's auditor and that his system has been up to date
since March 2018
.
He was issued
the required audit certificate for the year 2019
.
[9]
The
first
respondent
placed
the
blame
for
unresolved
client
issues
before
the
feet
of the respective
clients
.
Ms
.
Chambani
allegedly refused to furnish him with her bank account details
,
L. Radebe
inexplicably
approached
another attorney after allegedly indicating his satisfaction with the
resolution of the dispute
,
SC Nyoka
ignored the
many messages
left by the first
respondent,
Ms. Mathonsi
insisted
on
a cheque payment after it was
explained
to her that
the amount exceeded the amount for which the cheque was guaranteed
and then wanted to
lay
a complaint
with the pol
i
ce
when the
cheque was not honoured; MZ Masango
,
who
subsequently passed away
,
requested
to
receive
only
an
interim
payment and
despite
a
request
to
his
family
the executor has not
yet made
contact
with the
respondents
;
RM Shaku
requested various portions of her money to be paid to her as and when
she
needed it
;
0
Phiri did not
attend
to the
respondents
'
offices for
the
claim to
be finalised
despite
numerous
invitations.
[10]
In
reply
,
the applicant
submits
that
the bank statements
'
must
have
been
falsified in an
attempt
to
conceal
the
theft of
trust
funds
.'
The
applicant
again
obtained
certificates
of balance
from the respondents
'
bank to
confirm that the certificates
of
balance
were
correct.
The
amounts
reflected
therein
have
not
changed
,
and
confirm
the
validity
of the
certificates originally annexed to
the
applicant
'
s
forensic auditor
'
s
report
.
The
applicant
again
submitted
that
the
plethora
of
complaints
lodged
against
the
respondent detail that he failed
to
account
for
clients and
refused
to
communicate
with them
.
[11]
On
12
September
2019
,
Van
Nieuwenhuyzen J
and
Senyatsi AJ
,
as
he
then
was
,
granted an
order to the effect that the applicant must file a supplementary
affidavit
dealing with
the original bank
statements
of the Trust
Bank
Account
of
the
respondents
.
The applicant
explains that
the
court
was
concerned
that if
the
applicant
'
s
conclusion that
the
bank statements
were
falsified in attempt to conceal
the
theft
of
trust
funds
,
a
crime
was
committed
.
The
court
thus
advised
the
applicant
'
s
curator
'
s
department to procure original bank statements which would either
confirm the balances as per the certificates of balance
,
or exonerate
the respondent from a criminal charge in this regard
.
After receipt
of the original bank account statements
,
the applicant
submits that the conclusion reached by its forensic auditor that the
respondent falsified bank statements in an attempt
to conceal the
theft of trust funds is indeed the factual position and not mere
conjecture or speculation
.
The applicant
also stated that at the time of commissioning the supplementary
affidavit, the
Legal Practitioner
'
s
Fidelity Fund had received sixty-one claims against the trust account
of the respondent in the amount of R 23 680 016
.
20
.
The curator
department confirmed that these claims pertain to monies paid into
the respondents
'
trust account
prior to his suspension.
A further ten
claims
i
n
the amount of R 2 000 000
,
00
against the respondents
'
trust account
were received after the date of his suspension.
[12]
For purposes of this judgment
,
it is
sufficient to compare the bank statement for the period 29 February
2016 to 31 March 2016 (the March 2016 period) as provided
by the
respondents to the applicant
'
s
auditor
,
with
the bank statement obtained by the applicant
'
s
auditor
for
the
same
period
of
time
,
during
2021
,
subsequent
to
the
order granted in
September 2019
.
Whilst the
former reflects an opening balance of R4 669 801
,
00
for the March 2016 period
,
the latter
reflects an opening balance of R31 504
.
19
;
the former
reflects a closing balance of R4 638 297
.
18
whilst the latter reflects a closing balance of RO
.
It is
,
also
,
noticeable
that the bank statements obtained from the respondents
'
auditor did
not contain a bank stamp
,
while the
statements obtained by the applicant
'
s
curator department have bank stamps
.
The applicant
made out a
prima
facie
case
that the bank statements provided by the respondents
'
auditor were
falsified
.
Since the
initial bank statements were provided to the applicant's auditor by
the respondents
'
auditor
,
and since the
bank statements confirm the balances in the trust cash book
,
one would have
e
x
pected
the respondents to address this issue and to clarify how the
'
erroneous
'
statements
were obtained, and what the reasons for the discrepancy could be
.
In these
c
i
rcumstances
,
a mere den
i
al
that the bank statements
were falsified
is not sufficient to
give rise
to a
dispute of
fact
which
would necessitate the matter be
referred to
oral evidence
.
[13]
I agree
with
the applicant's
submission
that the
plethora
of
Rules
breached
by the first respondent, the complaints of unprofessional conduct,
the suspect trust bank accounts provided to the applicant's
forensic
auditor by the respondents
'
auditor, the
discrepancies
in
the
trust cash book
if
compared with
the bank statements obtained by the applicant
and confirmed
under
oath
to
be correct by
a paralegal
working
at the bank,
constitute sufficient proof that the first
respondent
had the
propensity
to
mismanage and
abuse his trust account. His capricious behaviour has resulted
in
members of
the
public being
left
out
of pocket. The
first
respondent
was
not able
to
provide an
explanation
for the
prima
facie
deficit
on his trust account.
He did
not
even endeavour
to address the
origin of the suspect bank statements,
provided by
his auditor to the applicant's forensic auditor.
Discussion
[14]
In
Malan
&
Another
v
The Law
Society
of
the Northern
Provinces
,
[1]
it
was
held that the Court must first decide as a matter of fact whether the
alleged offending
conduct
by
the legal practitioner has been established. This is a factual
enquiry. Secondly
,
if
the
Court is satisfied that the offending conduct has been established
,
a
value judgment is required to decide whether the person concerned
is
not
a fit and proper person to practise as a legal practitioner
.
Differently
put
,
the
court ought to weigh up the conduct complained about against the
conduct expected of an attorney
.
Thirdly
,
the
court must decide whether
,
in
view of all the
circumstances
of
the case
,
the
name of the attorney should be removed from the roll or suspended
from practice
.
Ultimately
this
is
a
question of degree
.
[15]
In answer
to
the first
aspect
reverted to in
Malan
,
supra
,
I
am
of
the view
that
the facts
alleged by the applicant
,
if
considered
in totality of all the affidavits
filed,
have been
proved on a balance of probabilities
.
[16]
The
conduct expected of an attorney is always revisited in applications
of this nature
.
It
is trite that society expects of attorneys to be trustworthy
,
and
reliable
.
The
profession
has
determined
the
standard
of
care it expects
of
admitted
attorneys
.
[2]
[17]
The first
respondent
,
and by
i
mplication
and association
the second
respondent fai
l
ed
to meet the threshold
set by society
and the professional
community
.
If regard is
had to the plethora of complaints
,
the
mismanagement
of trust
funds
,
the
state of affairs of the respondents
'
financial
books
,
and
the unexplained bank statements received from the respondents
'
auditor where
balances accord with the trust cash book balances but not with the
balances reflected on the certificates
of balances or
the bank statements ultimately obtained by the appl
i
cant's
forensic aud
i
tor
con
fi
rmed
under oath by an official of the bank
,
I am of the
v
i
ew
that a proper case is made out that the
first
respondent
is
not a fit and proper
person
to practice
as an
attorney
.
[18]
This begs the
question as to whether the name of the first respondent
should
be r
e
moved
fr
o
m
the
ro
ll
,
wh
e
th
e
r
h
e s
hould
b
e
suspe
n
d
ed
from pra
c
tice
or allowed to practice under
s
upervisi
o
n
.
[19]
The first
respondent acknowledged
that his
bookkeeping
was
i
n
disarray
,
but
said
t
hat
he
was
introduced
to Pastel
by
the
applicant
'
s
aud
i
tor
,
and
since
us
i
ng
Pastel his bookkeeping has been exemplary
.
[20]
If the only complaint against
the
first respondent
was
rooted in his
i
nability
to do proper bookkeeping
,
I
would have considered providing for remedial measures and
p
r
ofessional
i
mprovement.
However
,
the
element of dishonesty that clouds th
i
s
application
man
i
fests
not
only
i
n
the unexpla
i
ned
incorrect
bank
statements
,
to
put
it mildly
,
but
also in the complaints
by
clients lodged
with
the applicant against the fi
r
st
respondent
,
and
the claims instituted by a number of the first respondent
'
s
erstwhile clients against the Fidelity Fund
.
In
addition
,
the
first respondent does not take responsibil
i
ty
for the client
'
s
complaints but raises excuses and blames the majority of them for not
receiv
i
ng
the money paid out by the Road Acciden
t
Fund
t
o
their benefit.
He
d
i
d
not make the effort to meet w
i
th
his auditor and banker
i
n
orde
r
to
proffer an explanation for what
is
described
by the applicant as falsified bank statements
,
even
after receiving copies of the bank statements obtained by the
applicant's auditor that differs substantially from the statements
provided by his auditors
.
He
shows no remorse but says that the claims lodged with the Fidelity
Fund resemble a drop in the ocean if considered against all
the cases
he dealt with
.
The
facts
of
the
current
matter
distinguish
it
from
The
South
African
Legal
Practice
Council v Harper and another
.
[3]
[21]
In these circumstances, it cannot be justified to allow the first
respondent to practice as an
attorney
,
even if under
supervision
.
If the degree
of misconduct is considered the only justifiable action is to remove
the first respondent's name from
the
roll of
attorneys. As a result, the relief sought by the applicant stands to
be granted
.
ORDER
#### In
the result, the following order is granted:
In
the result, the following order is granted:
1.
The draft order marked X dated and signed by us is made an order of
court
E van der Schyff
Judge
of the High Court
I
agree
MMD Lenyai
Acting Judge of the
High Court
Delivered
:
This
judgement
is
handed
down
electronically
by
uploading
it
to
the
electronic
file
of this matter on
Caselines
.
As
a courtesy gesture
,
it will be
sent to the parties/their legal representatives by email.
For
the applicant:
P. Moonsamie
Instructed
by
:
IQBAL
MAHOMED
ATTORNEYS
For
the
respondents
:
Adv
.
N
.
Nortje
Instructed
by
:
SEKGALA
&
NJAU
ATTORNEYS
Date
of the hearing
:
17
January
2023
Date
of judgment:
27
February
2023
##### IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
##### GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
At
Pretoria on Monday 17 January 2023.
Before
the Honourable Judge van der Schyff and, Honourable Judge Lenyai.
Case
number: 88175/18
In
the matter between
:
#####
THE
LAW SOCIETY OF THE NORTHERN
PROVINCES
Applicant
(Incorporated
as the Law Society of the Tr
ansvaal)
and
##### MR
LODWICK MAKGAHLELA MASHABA1st Respondent
MR
LODWICK MAKGAHLELA MASHABA
1st Respondent
#####
##### MASHABA
MAKGAHLELA INC ATTORNEYS2nd Respondent
MASHABA
MAKGAHLELA INC A
T
TORNEYS
2nd Respondent
DRAFT ORDER
##### ITISORDEREDTHATINTERMSOFTHEPRAYERSINTHENOTICEOF
MOTION:
IT
IS
ORDERED
THAT
IN
TERMS
OF
THE
PRAYERS
IN
THE
NOTICE
OF
MOTION:
1.
That the name
of
MR
LODWICK MAKGAHLELA MASHABA
(the
respondent)
be
removed
(struck) from
the
roll
of
attorneys of this Honourable Court
,
as an
attorney, conveyancer
and notary.
2.
That
respondent immediately surrenders and delivers to the registrar of
th
i
s
Honourable Court his certificate of enrolment as an attorney and
conveyancer of this Honourable Court
.
3.
That in the event of
the respondent failing to comply with the terms of this order
detailed in the previous paragraph within two
(2) weeks from the date
of
this
order
,
the
sheriff
of
the
district
in
which
the
certificates
are
,
be authorised
and directed
to take possession
of the
certificates
and to hand
them to the Registrar of
this
Honourable
Court
.
4.
That
respondent
be
prohibited
from
handling
or
operating
on
his
trust accounts
as detailed in
paragraph 5
hereof
.
5.
That Johan van
Staden
,
the
head
:
members
affairs of applicant or any person nominated by him
,
be appointed
as
curator
bonis
(curator)
to administe
r
and control
the trust accounts of respondent
,
including
accounts relating to insolvent and deceased estates and any deceased
estate and any estate under curatorship connected
with respondent's
practice as an attorney and including
,
also, the
separate banking accounts opened and kept by respondent at a bank in
the Republic of South Africa in terms of section
78(1) of Act No 53
of 1979 and/or any separate savings or interest bearing accounts
as contemplated by section 78(2) and/or
section 78
(2A) of Act No. 53 of 1979
,
in wh
i
ch
monies from such trust banking accounts have been invested by virtue
of the provisions of the said sub-sections or in which monies
in
any
manner
have
been
deposited
or
credit
e
d
(the
said
accounts
being hereafter referred to as the trust accounts), with the
following powers and duties
:
5.1
immediately to take
possession of respondent's accounting records
,
records
,
files and
documents as referred to in paragraph 6 and subject to the approval
of the board of control of the attorneys fidelity
fund
(here
i
nafter
referred
to
as
the
fund)
to
sign
all
forms
and
generally
to operate
upon
the
trust
account(s),
but only to such extent and for such purpose as may be necessary to
bring completion current transactions in which respondent
was acting
at the date of this order;
5.2
subject to the
appro
v
al
and control of the board of control of the fund and where mon
i
es
had been paid
i
ncorrectly
and unlawfully from the undermentioned trust accounts
,
to recover and
receive and, if necessary in the interests of persons having
l
awful
claims upon the trust account(s) and/or against respondent in respect
of monies held
,
received
and/or invested by respondent in terms of section 78(1) and/or
section 78(2) and/or section 78 (2A) of Act No 53 of 1979
(hereinafter referred to as trust monies), to take any legal
proceedings which may be necessary for the recovery of money which
may be due to such persons in respect of incomplete transactions
,
if any
,
in which
respondent was and may st
i
ll
have been concerned and to receive such monies and to pay the same to
the credit of the trust account(s)
;
5.3
to ascertain
from respondent's
accounting
records
the
names of all
persons on whose account respondent appears to hold or to have
received trust monies (hereinafter
referred to as
trust creditors)
;
to call upon
respondent to furnish him
,
within 30
(thirty)
days
of the date of serv
i
ce
of this order or such further period as he may agree to in writing,
with the names
,
addresses and
amounts due to all trust creditors
;
.
5.4
to
call
upon
such
trust
creditors
to
furnish
such
proof
,
information
and/or
affidavits as he may require to enable him, acting in consultation
with, and subject to the requirements of, the board of
control of the
fund, to determine whether any such trust creditor has a claim in
respect of
monies
in
the
trust account(s)
of respondent
and
,
if
so
,
the amount of
such claim
;
5.5
to admit or
reject, in whole or in part
,
subject to
the
approval of
the board of control of the fund
,
the claims of
any such trust creditor or creditors
,
without
prejud
i
ce
to such trust creditor's or creditors' right of access to the civil
courts
;
5.6
having
determined
the
amounts which
he considers are lawfully
due
to
trust
creditors
,
to pay such
claims in full but subject always to the approval of the board of
control of
the
fund;
5.7
in the event
of
there being any surplus in the trust account
(
s)
of respondent
after
payment
of
the
admitted
claims
of all
trust
creditors
in
full,
to
utilise
such
surplus to settle or reduce
(as
the
case may
be)
,
firstly
,
any cla
i
m
of the
fund in
terms of
section
78(3)
of Act No 53
of
1979
in
respect
of
any
interest
therein
referred to and
,
secondly
,
without
prejudice
to
the rights of
the creditors of respondent
,
the costs
,
fees and
expenses referred
to
in paragraph
10 of this order
,
or such
portion thereof as has not
already
been
separately paid by
respondent
to applicant,
and
,
if
there
is
any
balance
left
after payment
in full of all such claims, costs
,
fees and
expenses, to pay such balance,
subject to the
approval of the board of control of
the
fund
,
to respondent
,
if
he is solvent
,
or
,
if
respondent
is insolvent
,
to the
trustee(s)
5.8
in the event
of there being insufficient trust-monies in the trust banking
account(s) of respondent, in accordance with the available
documentation and information, to pay in full the claims of trust
creditors who have lodged claims for repayment and whose claims
have
been approved, to distribute the credit balance(s) which may be
available in the trust banking account(s) amongst the trust
creditors
alternatively to pay the balance to the Attorneys Fidelity Fund;
5.9
subject to the
approval of the chairman
of the board
of control of
the
fund
,
to appoint
nominees or representatives and/or consult with and/or engage the
services
of
attorneys
,
counsel
,
accountants
and/or
any
other persons,
where considered necessary, to assist him
in
carrying out
his duties as curator
;
and
5.10
to render from
time to time
,
as curator
,
returns to the
board of contro
l
of the fund
showing how the trust account
(
s)
of respondent has/have been dealt with
,
until such
time as the board notifies h
i
m
that he may regard his dut
i
es
as curator as terminated
.
6.
That
respondent immediately delivers his accounting records
,
records
,
files and
documents con
t
ain
i
ng
particulars and information relating to
:
6.1
any
monies
received
,
held
or
paid
by the respondent for
or
on
account
of any person while
practis
i
ng
as an a
ttorney;
##
6.2
any mon
i
es
invested by respondent in terms of sect
i
on
78
(
2)
and/or section 78 (2A) of Act No 53 of 19
7
9
;
6.3
any interest
on monies so invested which was paid over or credited to respondent
;
6.4
any estate of
a deceased person or an insolvent estate or an estate under
curatorship admin
i
stered
by respondent
,
whether as
execu
t
or
or trustee or curator or on behalf of the executor
,
trustee or
curator
;
6.5
any
i
nsolvent
estate adm
i
nistered
by respondent as truste
e
or on behalf
o
f
the trustee in terms of the Insolvency Act
,
No 24 of 1936
;
6.6
any
trust
administered
by
respondent
as
trustee
or
on
behalf
of
the
trustee in
terms
of
the Trust
Properties
Control Act
,
No
57 of 1988;
6.7
any
company
liquidated
in
terms
of
the Companies
Act,
No
61
of
1973
,
administered
by respondent as or on behalf of the liquidator
;
6.8
any
close
corporation
liquidated
iri
terms
of
the
Close
Corporations
Act,
69 of 1984,
administered by respondent as or on beha
l
f
of the liquidator
;
and
6.9
respondent's practice
as an attorney of this Honourable Court
,
to
the curator appointed
in terms of paragraph 5 hereof
,
provided that,
as far as such accounting records
,
records
,
files and
documents are concerned
,
respondent
shall be ent
i
tled
to have reasonable access to them but always subject to the
supervision of such curator or his nominee
.
7.
That should
respondent fail to comply with the provisions of the preceding
paragraph of this order on service thereof upon him or
after a return
by the person entrusted with the service thereof that he has been
unable to effect service thereof on respondent
(as the case may be}
,
the sheriff
for the district
i
n
wh
i
ch
such accounting records
,
records, files
and documents are, be empowered and directed to search for and to
take possession thereof wherever they may be and
to deliver them to
such curator
.
8.
That the
curator shall be entitled to
:
8.1
hand over to the
persons entitled thereto all such records, files and documents
provided that a satisfactory written undertaking
has been received
from
such
persons
to
pay
any
amount,
either
determined
on taxation or
by agreement, in respect of fees
and disbursements due
to the firm;
8.2
require from
the persons referred
to
in paragraph 8.1 to
provide any
such documentation
or
information
which
he
may
consider
relevant
in
respect
of a claim or
possible or anticipated claim, against him and/or respondent and/or
respondent's
clients and/or
fund in respect of money and/or other property entrusted to
respondent provided that any person entitled thereto
shall be granted
reasonable
access thereto
and shall be permitted to make copies thereof;
8.3
publish
this
order
or
an
abridged
version
thereof
in
any
newspaper
he considers
appropriate; and
8.4
wind-up of the
respondent's practice.
9.
That
respondent be
and is hereby removed from office as -
9.1
executor of
any estate of which respondent has been appointed
in
terms of
section 54(1)(a)(v)
of the
Administration of Estates Act, No 66 of
1965
or the estate of any other person referred to in
section 72(1)
;
130-19
9.2
curator or
guardian of any minor or other person's property in terms of
section
72(1)
read with
section 54(1)(a)(v)
and
section 85
of the
Administration of Estates Act, No 66 of 1965
;
9.3
trustee of any
insolvent estate in terms of
section 59
of the Insolvency
Act. No 24 of
1936;
9.4
liquidator of any
company in terms
of section 379 (2)
read with
379(e) of the Companies Act
,
No 61 of
1973
;
9.5
trustee
of
any
trust in terms
of section
20(1)
of the Trust
Property
Control Act
,
No 57 of 1988
;
9.6
liquidator
of any
close
corporation
appointed
in
terms
of section
74 of
the Close
Corporation Act, No 69 of 1984
;
and
9.7
administrator
appointed in
te ms of Section 74 of the Magistrates Court Act, No 32 of 1944.
10.
That
respondent be and is hereby directed
:
10.1
to pay, in
terms of sec ion 78(5) of Act No. 53 of 1979
,
the reasonable
costs of the inspection of the accounting
records of
respondent;
10.2
to pay the
reasonable fees of the auditor engaged by applicant;
10.3
to pay the
reasonable fees and expenses of the curator
,
including
travelling time
;
10.4
to pay the reasonable
fees and expenses of any person(s) consulted and/or engaged
by
the curator
as aforesaid
;
10.5
to pay the
expenses relating to the publication of this order or an abbreviated
version thereof
;
and
10.6
to pay the
costs of this application on an attorney-and-client scale
.
11.
That if there
are any trust funds available the respondent shall within 6 (six)
months after having been requested to do so by the
curator, or within
such longer period as the curator may agree to in writing
,
shall satisfy
the
curator,
by means of the submission of taxed bills of costs or otherwise, of
the amount of the fees and disbursements due to him
(respondent) in
respect of his former practice, and should he fail to do so, he shall
not be entitled to recover such fees and
d
i
sbursements
from the curator without prejudice
,
however
,
to such
rights
(if any)
as
he may
have against
the trust
creditor(s) concerned for payment or recovery thereof;
12.
That a
certificate issued by a director of the Attorneys Fidelity Fund shall
constitute
prima
facie
proof
of the curator's costs and that the Registrar be authorised to issue
a writ of execution on the strength of such certificate
in order to
collect the curator's costs
.
### BY
ORDER OF THE COURT
BY
ORDER OF THE COURT
COURT
REGISTRAR
Applicant's
Attorney:
Amelia
S
tr
ecker
Iqbal Mahomed Attorneys)
072 211 6860
[1]
2009
(1) SA 216 (SCA).
[2]
See,
e.g.,
South
African Legal Practice Council v Joynt
(20873/20)
[2021] ZAGPPHC 471 (28 July 2021) paras [13]-[17].
[3]
(51846/2021)
[2021] ZAGPJHC 829 (21 December 2021).
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