Case Law[2023] ZAGPPHC 1867South Africa
P.V.M v Ngeno and Mteto Incorporated and Others (2022/045691) [2023] ZAGPPHC 1867 (3 November 2023)
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## P.V.M v Ngeno and Mteto Incorporated and Others (2022/045691) [2023] ZAGPPHC 1867 (3 November 2023)
P.V.M v Ngeno and Mteto Incorporated and Others (2022/045691) [2023] ZAGPPHC 1867 (3 November 2023)
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sino date 3 November 2023
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REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
Case
No: 2022/045691
REPORTABLE: NO
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES:NO
REVISED:
NO
Date:
3
November 2023
In
the matter between:
P[…]
V[…] M[…]
Applicant
And
NGENO
AND MTETO INCORPORATED
First
Respondent
TANDO
NGENO
Second
Respondent
S[…]
N[…] [FORMERLY M[…]]
Third
Respondent
Delivered: This judgment
was prepared and authored by the Judge whose name is reflected and is
handed down electronically by circulation
to the Parties /their legal
representatives by email and by uploading it to the electronic file
of this matter on Case Lines. The
date for hand-down is deemed to be
03 November 2023
JUDGMENT
BOTSI-THULARE
AJ:
Introduction:
Main
application
[1]
This application is brought by P[...] V[...] M[...] (the applicant),
a major male in his capacity,
formerly married to S[...] N[...]
(third respondent). The applicant brings this application for a final
interdict against Ngeno
and Mteto Incorporated (first respondent), a
personal liability company duly registered and incorporated in terms
the company laws
of South Africa, and Tango Ngeno (second
respondent), an adult male legal practitioner who was admitted and
enrolled as such in
terms of section 24 and 30 of the Legal Practice
Act.
[2]
The first and second respondent to be interdicted from unlawfully
withholding of the applicant
‘share of the proceeds on the sale
of the property situated at 6[…] M[…] Street,
Copperleaf Golf estate, Mnandi
(the property). and the share of the
proceeds to be paid to the applicant. Further that the first and
second respondent be interdicted
from subtracting certain amounts
from the proceeds.
Counter Application
[3]
The third respondent made a counter
application to the Honourable Court to be heard simultaneously with
the main application, for
an order that the addendum entered into
between the applicant and the third respondent on 1 February 2022, in
respect of the settlement
agreement entered into between the parties
on 14 December 2020 and made an order on 21 January 2021 under case
no GP/RC1217/2020
be made an order of court. The proceeds of the sale
of the property be paid in full to the third respondent, the
ownership of motor
vehicle VW Polo be registered to the applicant,
and the applicant to take necessary steps required to sign documents
necessary
to give effect to the order of the court and to pass
transfer of the motor vehicle.
[4]
Alternatively in the event where the court does not make the addendum
an agreement of court and only in the event
where the court finds
that the applicant is entitled to 50% of the proceeds, to direct the
first respondent to subtract from the
proceeds of the sale of
property the arrears due in respect of the property and the motor
vehicle.
Condonation
[5]
The third respondent also applied for condonation for the late filing
on the grounds that she
was abroad at the time and could not
timeously depose to an affidavit, this shows good cause, and the
third respondent is not wilful,
and the applicant was not prejudiced
by late filing.
Background
Facts
[6]
The applicant and the third respondent were married in community of
property and their marriage
was dissolved on 22 January 2021 by
divorce and was subjected to a final settlement agreement. The
applicant and the third respondent
are the registered owners of two
immovable properties known as Erf 6[…] P[…] T[…]
Ext 1 and SS 1[…],
Unit 2[…]
B[…].
[7]
The applicant engaged the third respondent on his intention to resign
from his employment and
suggested that they sell the two immovable
properties in order to ease financial commitments on the applicant as
he was the sole
contributor on both the bond repayments. The
applicant and the third respondent reached an agreement and arranged
for the
properties to be listed and marketed by various estate agents
including LWP Estate Agents (the agents).
[8]
On
3
June 2022, the applicant received
an offer to purchase (OTP) on the property from the agents which he
signed and sent to the third
respondent for counter signature. On 7
June 2022, the applicant received a copy of a duly signed OTP from
the agents and recommended
a certain conveyancer. The recommendation
was objected by the third respondent stating that she has given the
recommendation to
someone else who is going to give her a discount
when she buys the house. The applicant responded that he needs an
update on the
progress of the sale and further not being involved in
the conveyancer discussions about the property is illegal and
unallowed.
The applicant’s response was not replied to by the
respondent.
[9]
Further emails were exchanged and on 7 June 2022, the agents
corresponded via an email requesting
documents to effect transfer
after securing a buyer, which the applicant obliged. On June 2022 and
15 July 2022, the applicant
directed an email to LWP Estate Agents
enquiring about the transfer progress in which the agents were not
aware that the conveyancer
had not engaged with the applicant on the
progress regarding the transfer of the property. The agents undertook
to instruct the
conveyancer again to include the applicant in the
correspondence.
[10]
On 19 July 2022, after the agents instructed the conveyancer to
supply the applicant with weekly updates,
the first respondent
engaged with the applicant via email and provided information
regarding cancellation figures received from
the bank, and from then
on there was a continuous engagement with the applicant and the third
respondent on updates and requests.
On 15 August 2022, the applicant
went to the first and second respondent’s office to sign the
transfer
documents transferring to the buyer.
[11]
On 3 November 2022, the first respondent sent an email to the
applicant, the third respondent and the agents
regarding the
confirmation of the property transfer and registration. The employee
of the first respondent and second respondent
confirmed further that
the second respondent will take over the process and effect payments
of the proceeds after receipt of such
into the first respondent's
trust account. The applicant proceeded to send his bank account
details to the first and second respondent
wherein the half share of
the proceeds for the sale of property shall be effected.
[12]
On 4 November 2022, after the applicant probed about his half share
to the second respondent
, the
second
respondent correspondent via email and in the email stated that there
are court proceedings against the applicant wherein
it is disputed
that the applicant is entitled to the proceeds of the sale of the
property, the second respondent asked the applicant
to confirm this
position and further stated that he is duty bound to withhold the
funds in the trust until the dispute is resolved.
[13]
The applicant responded to the correspondence and advised that the
sale is subject to a divorce settlement
and there is no exclusion for
him to get half share, and that nothing prevents the second
respondent from paying as there is no
court order or pending
application. On the same day the applicant was
presented
with a letter from Ronel De Villiers Attorneys (third respondent’s
attorneys) of which the letter averred that the
third respondent had
through her attorneys instituted legal proceedings against the
applicant, in which the applicant denies
that as he alleges he did
not receive any documents instituting legal proceedings against him
before
the
transfer
and registration process.
[14]
It was later transpired that the instituted legal proceedings were
made on the 11 October 2022, but only
emailed to the applicant on 7
November 2022, after the applicant has raised queries concerning the
refusal by the second respondent
to pay the proceeds on the sale of
the property. The third respondent’s attorneys went further to
state that the applicant
is not entitled to 50% share of the proceeds
of the sale of the property from the joint estate and that the third
respondent would
approach the High Court for an urgent application.
Issues for
determination
[15]
The issued to be determined in this matter are the following:
15.1. Whether the
applicant has made out a case for a final interdict?
15.2 Whether
the mandate of the first and second respondent as the transferring
attorneys were to further withhold the
monies in the trust account
pending finalization of the dispute between the applicant and the
third respondent?
15.3. Whether the letter
in question was a settlement agreement or a motivational letter in
support of the third respondent’s
bond application?
Law applicable to
the facts
I now turn to apply
the law supra to the facts in casu
Whether the applicant
has made out a case for a final interdict?
[16]
The main issue to be determined is whether the applicant has made out
a case for a final interdict, this
remedy is based on the final
determination of the rights of the parties to the litigation,
[1]
In order to grant a final interdict, there are requirements to be met
and they are as follows:
[2]
(a)
a clear right;
(b)
an injury actually committed or reasonably apprehended; and
(c)
the absence of similar protection by any other ordinary remedy.
[17]
In
Candid
Electronics (Pty) Ltd v Merchandise Buying Syndicate
[3]
It is therefore simply stated:
“
in
an application for a final interdict the grant or refusal of an
interdict is a matter within the discretion of the court hearing
the
application and depends on the facts peculiar to each individual case
and the right the applicant is seeking to enforce or
protect.”
[4]
(a)
A clear right.
[18]
Substantive law deals with the right of an applicant in the
matter,
[5]
and the
onus
lies
on the applicant applying for a final interdict to establish on a
balance of probability the facts and evidence which
prove that he has
a clear or definite right in terms of substantive law.
[6]
The right to be proven in these circumstances must be the right which
can be protected and exists in law whether it is at common
law or
statutorily.
[7]
[19]
The applicant contends that he has a clear right
to his share of proceeds of the sale of property, however
his share
is withheld unlawfully by the first and second respondent, who are
fully aware that a decree of divorce exists relating
to the equal
division of the estate of the applicant and the respondent.
(b)
an injury actually committed or
reasonably apprehended
[20]
In
Free
State Gold areas ltd v Merriespruit (Orange Free State) Gold Mining
Co Ltd
and
another
[8]
the court held that for a final interdict to be granted an applicant
need not establish that injury will arise or ensue as a result
of the
infringement of a right, but need only prove a reasonable
apprehension of injury of such a nature which a reasonable man
might
consider and conceive of being confronted by the facts.
[21]
The second requirement is essential for the granting of a final
interdict. The phrase 'injury' means a breach
or infraction of the
right which has been shown or demonstrated and the prejudice that has
resulted therefrom. The term 'injury'
is used as a translation
of
Van
der Linden's
phrase
'een gepleegde feitlike' ('a fact committed'). It has also been held
that prejudice is not equivalent to damages. It
will suffice to
establish potential prejudice.
[9]
[22]
The test for the second requirement is objective and the courts
decide on the facts established for the grounds
of reasonable
apprehension.
[10]
It must be
noted that
where
there is a threatened infringement of an applicant's clear right, he
need not wait for the actual infringement to occur, but
may and is
entitled to approach the court to restrain the threatened conduct
which would establish and found such a breach
or contravention of
his/her rights.
[11]
[23]
The applicant contends that the first and second respondent are
unlawfully withholding his share of the proceeds
of the sale of the
property. In that they took a decision not to pay, relying on
unverified information that prejudices and injures
the rights of the
applicants to receive their share. The information the first and
second respondents relied on was a motivation
letter which stems from
the period when the third respondents approached the applicant
proposing to buy out the applicant from
the property. A memorandum of
agreement was presented where the applicant is the seller, and the
third respondent is a buyer. This
motivation letter was meant to
assist the third respondent for the purposes of buying out the
applicant out of the bond held in
community of property. However, the
respondent used this motivation letter as an amendment to the
settlement agreement and the
first and second respondent are relying
on it and accepting its contents at face value.
(c)
Ad alternative remedy
[24]
The third requirement for the granting of a final interdict is the
absence of another adequate or satisfactory
remedy.
[12]
Concerning the alternative remedy, the courts have determined that it
must be adequate in the circumstances, be ordinary and reasonable,
be
a legal remedy and also grant similar protection to a party.
[13]
Generally an applicant will not obtain an interdict if he can be
awarded adequate compensation or amends by way of damages.
[14]
[25]
The enquiry on this essential matter is whether an interdict is the
only relief or remedy to help the applicant
or is there a
satisfactory alternative remedy. Furthermore, the circumstances
relating to each case will indicate whether
the award of damages
is an adequate alternative remedy. The Court maintains discretion. It
is a factor in the general discretion
of the Court.
[15]
[26]
In
NCSPCA
v Openshaw
[16]
the SCA reiterated that an interdict is not a remedy for a past
invasion of rights but is concerned with present or future
infringements.
According to the SCA, an interdict is appropriate only
when future injury is feared. Where a wrongful act giving rise to the
injury
has already occurred, it must be of a continuing nature or
there must be a reasonable apprehension that it will be repeated.
Once
an applicant has established the three requisite elements for the
grant of an interdict, the scope, if any, for refusing relief
is
limited. There is no general discretion to refuse relief
.
[17]
[27]
The applicant contended that he does not have an alternative remedy,
on the basis that he has continuously
written to the second
respondent requesting the money to be paid, however it fell on deaf
ears.
Whether the mandate of
the first and second respondent as the transferring attorneys were to
further withhold the monies in the
trust account pending finilisation
of the dispute between the applicant and the third respondent?
[28]
The first and second respondent contend that, they have never
disputed the applicant’s entitlement
to the proceeds, however,
there are competing claims between the applicant and the third
respondent and none of these claims cannot
be ignored. Therefore,
should the first and second respondent pay the applicant the share of
proceeds as he demands, this action
may lead to negligence and may be
sued by the third respondent. The first and second respondent
submitted that they acted prudent
as conveyancers by keeping the
money in the trust account until the competing claims are resolved.
In their contention they relied
on Deed Registry Act 37 of 1947,
where the Act makes a provision for the transferring of immovable
property pursuant to the decree
of divorce in terms of a settlement
agreement incorporated in the decree of divorce.
[29]
In terms of the Deeds Registries Act 37 of 1937(the Act), there is a
process to be followed when divorced
spouses acquires half share of
his or her former spouse. Pursuant to a decree of divorce and a
divorce settlement, section 45
bis
1(a) of the Act makes a
provision in terms for circumstances where an immovable property is
transferred, and it states that:
“
(1)
If immovable property or a lease under any law relating to land
settlement or a bond is registered in a deeds registry and it—
(a)
formed an asset in a joint estate of spouses who have been divorced,
and one of them has lawfully
acquired the share of his or her former
spouse in the property, lease or bond; or
(b)
forms or formed an asset in a joint estate, and a court has made an
order, or has made an order
and given an authorization, under section
20 or 21 (1) of the Matrimonial Property Act,
1984 (Act No.
88 of 1984), or under
section 7
of the
Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998
, as the case may be, in
terms of which the property, lease or bond is awarded to one of the
spouses,
the
registrar may, on written application by the spouse concerned and
accompanied by such documents as the registrar deems necessary,
endorse on the title deeds of the property or on the lease or the
bond that such spouse is entitled to deal with such property,
lease
or bond, and thereupon such spouse shall be entitled to deal
therewith as if he or she had taken formal transfer or cession
into
his or her name of the share of the former spouse or his or her
spouse, as the case may be, in the property, lease or bond.”
[30]
In terms of
section 45(2)
read with
section 57
of Deeds Registries
Act, it is further provided that:
“
If
immovable property referred to in is hypothecated under a
registered mortgage bond, the provisions of subsections
(2), (3) and (4) of section 45 shall mutatis
mutandis apply.
(b) If
immovable property referred to in is hypothecated under a registered
mortgage bond, the endorsement provided for
in the said subsection
shall not be made unless—
(i)such
bond is cancelled; or
(ii)the
said property is released from the bond; or
(iii)the
former spouses jointly and severally assume liability in writing (in
the prescribed form and signed by both such spouses
and the legal
holder of the bond) for all the indebtedness and renounce the
exception de duobus vel pluribus reis debendi.”
[31]
In
Fischer
v Ubomi Ushishi Trading CC and others
[18]
the
court held that the spouses married in community of property
automatically become bound co-owners of immovable property in their
joint estate. Upon termination of the joint estate of the parties to
divorce, the bound co-ownership is replaced by free co-ownership
until such time as the subdivision of the joint estate or immovable
property is effected. It is only upon attestation of the deeds
of
partition transfer by the registrar that free co-ownership is
replaced by individual.
[32]
There is a question here on whether or not the money held in a
trust is identifiable, in
Trustees
of the Insolvent Estates of Whitehead v Dumas and Another
,
[19]
it was held that once money was transferred into a Bank account of
another person , the money has been transferred .This would
effectively mean , as the Court observed that the Bank becomes
accountable to its customer and not a third party , the holder of
the
account in which the money was transferred. The money held in trust
out of the proceeds of sale, which in this instance is
50%, the First
and Second respondent, therefore had no claim to the money that has
been transferred from the sale of the immovable
property.
[33]
The first respondent does not hold a real right over the money
deposited into the trust account of the applicant
and third
respondents. This has to be the case because the first respondent was
not deprived of the money without its consent and
the principles
submitted during the parties’ submissions regarding the
commitxio
.
As highlighted in
Gore, Leathern and
Whitehead
cases, the bank is the
owner of the funds held in trust and both applicant and third
respondent has personal right to the money.
The second respondent,
merely have a claim afforded to them as trust creditors or
conveyancing attorneys to deal with the transfers.
[34]
As the mandate existed and settlement agreement
between the applicant and third respondent, the first /second
respondent as a principle has a right to withdraw the funds from the
bank without instructions and pay the applicant / third respondent,
however it may not use the funds to set off its debts. Doing so,
would offend the provisions of section 88(1)(b) of the LPC, which
only allows the second respondent to keep excess funds once all the
creditors of the trust have been paid off.
[35]
The said deposit is not defined as excess. If there was an interest
gained on the deposit that would be considered
excess, it is rather
regarded as a principal amount. Although there exists an ethical duty
on the first respondent to return the
money, section 88(1)b does not
place a legal obligation to do so. As such, the obligation lies
on the first respondent’s
account to ensure the money is
returned to it. Therefore, the unused funds in a client ‘trust
account cannot be used to set
off any legal fees owed to the firm
concerned.
[36]
The question arises whether or not the deposit is a debt. In
Drennaa
Maud & Partners v Town Board of the township
[20]
, the court describes a debt as:
”
In
short, the debt does not refer to the cause of action, but more
generally to the claim. In deciding whether a debt has become
prescribed, one has to identify the debt, or put differently, what
the claim was in the broad sense of the meaning of that word.”
[21]
[37]
The deposit ought to be considered a debt because the obligation to
pay the money as per settlement of agreement
to the first respondent,
rested on the attorneys as a principle of the second respondent which
is the holder of the trust account
with the bank.
Whether the letter in
question was a redistribution agreement or a motivational letter in
support of the third respondent’s
bond application?
[38]
Another issue for determination is based on the competing claim of
the letter that was written, the applicant
says it is a motivation
letter while the third respondent claims that it is the
redistribution letter. The parties are interpreting
the letter
differently. Moreover, the first and second defendant interpret the
letter as an agreement given its wording which states
as follows:
“
please
note that this is an agreement for the parties and motivation for the
bond application of Ms S[…] M[…].
Mr
M[…] is giving full ownership and transfer of property
situated at 6[…] M[…] Street Copperleaf Golf Estate
Mnandi who shall in turn get a bond against property to be register
(sic) in her name only..”
[39]
The first and second respondent submitted that because of the
language used in the letter no other reasonable
reader would
interpret the document as a motivational letter since it mentions
other assets. The document also speaks of the applicant
taking over
the property at 2[…] B[…] Manavoni Centurion. The third
respondent could not have followed the section
45 bis 1(a) procedure
as it would have been costly, all she wanted was for the applicant to
sign the sale agreement since the property
was still in both their
names, and the purpose of the conclusion of the redistribution
document was to make it part of the settlement
agreement through
variation of settlement agreement and the applicant was made aware of
this fact.
[40]
In interpreting the document, it must be borne in mind that an
agreement is also a contract, which is defined
as an agreement
entered with the intention of creating legal obligations
[22]
In
this context there is an agreement entered into between the parties,
an
agreement
is reached when parties come to a consensus accord on the fact
that they intend to create between them an obligation
(or
obligations) with a specific content.
[23]
The
agreement must relate to:
[24]
(a)
the fact that obligations are to be created;
(b)
the persons between whom the obligations are to be created; and
(c)
the content of the obligations, that is, to the performances to be
rendered.
[41]
Sometimes the meaning of the words and expressions used in forming of
a contract maybe vague and ambiguous,
even where the parties have
recorded their agreement in a document. Writing does not guarantee
clarity and precision.
[25]
[42]
In
Scottish
Union & National Insurance Co Ltd v Native Recruiting
Corporation
[26]
the
court held that:
“
We
must gather the intention of the parties from the language of the
contract itself, and if that language is clear, we must give
effect
to what the parties themselves have said; and we must presume that
they knew the meaning of the words they used
.”
[27]
[43]
It was further held in
Cape
Provincial Administration v Clifford Harris (Pty)
Ltd
1997
[28]
that according to the “golden rule” of interpretation,
the language in the document must be given its ordinary grammatical
meaning unless this would lead to an absurdity or a result that the
parties never envisaged
or
unless it is shown that the parties used the words in a specialised,
restricted or technical sense and not in their ordinary
sense. If
the meaning of the words used is clear and unambiguous, evidence is
not admissible to contradict, add to or modify
that meaning. This is
sometimes referred to as the “plain meaning” rule.
[44]
The third respondent submits that the
agreement expressly records that the parties have entered into an
agreement and same will
be utilised as motivation letter to the third
respondent to apply for a home loan. The applicant has renounced his
rights and benefits
in respect of the immovable property.to the third
respondent.
[45]
The applicant further submits that when the first and second
respondent refused to pay him his share of the proceeds
their conduct
was unprofessional in that they were fully aware that a divorce
exists relating to the equal share of the estate
between the
applicant and the third respondent. The first and second respondent
ignored the order and settled to withhold the funds
based on an
assumption that a motivational letter intent to mean otherwise.
[46]
In
Magidimisi
v Premier of the Eastern Cape and Others
[29]
Froneman J emphasized that:
“
One
of the founding values of the Constitution is the rule of law. One of
the fundamental principles of the rule of law is that
everybody,
including the state, is subject to the law and judgments of the
courts. This is emphasized in the Constitution
by the provision
that an order of court binds all persons to whom and organs of state
to which it applies. The Constitution requires
all organs of state to
assist and protect the courts and to ensure the effectiveness of
courts.”
[30]
[47]
In this case the first and second respondent are officers of the
court, who were assisting with the sale
of the property in question,
upon understanding that there is a divorce, they were aware that
there is a divorce settlement laying
the terms with regards to the
estate of the parties, and how on sale of the property in question,
its proceeds should be divided,
however in this case the proceeds are
withheld in a trust account due to the parties competing claims.
[48]
In
Minister
of Tourism v Afriforum NPC
[31]
the court laid down a definition of a moot case and held that:
“
A
case is moot when there is no longer a live dispute or controversy
between the parties or which would be resolved by a court’s
decision. A case is also moot when a court’s decision would be
of academic interest only.”
[
49]
The applicant argues that the first and second respondent since they
have been aware that a decree of divorce
and a settlement exists
thereof, ought to have absolved themselves from the proceedings by
completing the mandate which was to
transfer the proceeds of the sale
of the property to the applicant and the third respondent in equal
shares. This legal battle
would have been between the applicant and
the first respondent as to whom and how much every party is entitled.
[50]
The first and second respondent submit that the applicant seeks to
interdict them from deducting the amounts
used for the clearance
certificate and municipality, however these monies have already been
used, therefore the applicant does
not meet the requirement for a
final interdict since the interdict is not for future occurrences.
Reasons
for decision
[51]
The applicant has not established a clear right to the share of the
proceeds of the sale of the property
based on the ground that the
written agreement entered between the parties would make the third
respondent the sole owner of the
property in question. The applicant
went further to take an action of transferring the property to the
third respondent, which
is what needs to be done in order to give
full ownership of the property to the third respondent. This court
also taking into account
that the applicant also has his own property
as his share from the division of the estate.
[52]
In my view there is no prejudice that will emanate from the first and
second respondent for withholding the
money in the trust account
since there are competing claims with regards to the letter and the
payment of the proceeds. All the
first and second respondent has done
was to follow their client’s mandate after being made aware of
the pending litigation.
[53]
According to the settlement agreement the parties agreed that the
arrangement will prevail until such time
as the youngest child
becomes emancipated or turns 25 years old.
[54]
Given the circumstances that the property in question and the
initiative took by the third respondent to secure
a home for their
children which is the primary resident of the minor and third
respondent, it is only fair that the proceeds of
the sale be given to
the third respondent.
Costs
[55]
Both parties sought costs against the other. This, however, did not
detain argument in this application for
any significant period.
[56]
In so far as the award of costs is concerned, it is trite (and thus
does not require lengthy exposition or
repetition) that the general
rule or principle is that costs should follow the result, or put
differently, the successful litigant
should be awarded his or her
costs.
[57]
This application is an abuse of the court process, and the court
should mark its displeasure with the applicant
in this regard
(presumably by way of a costs order,) who has been legally
represented throughout the relevant proceedings.
[58]
I find nothing in the affidavits filed, and /or argument advanced, in
this application, to deviate from the
above general rule or
principle.
The
above considered, and I am constrained to make the following order:
Order
[59]
59.1 The application against the first and second respondent is
dismissed with costs on attorney and client
scale.
59.2
The late filling of the third respondent ‘s replying affidavit
is condoned, the counter application is granted.
59.3
The addendum entered into between the applicant and the third
respondent on 1 February, in respect of a settlement agreement
entered into between the parties on 14 December 2020, is made an
order of court is incorporated and into the decree of divorce.
59.4.
The proceeds from the sale relating to ERF 6[…] shall be paid
in full to the third respondent.
59.5.
The third respondent is authorised to transfer ownership of motor
vehicle VW Polo GP 1.2 TSI with registration no FT 7[…]
to the
applicant.
59.6.
The applicant is ordered to take all steps required to sign all
documents necessary and do all things required and necessary
to give
effect to order, and particularly all things required to in order to
pass transfer of the motor vehicle
59.7.
The applicant is ordered to pay the costs of the application on an
attorney and client scale.
MD
BOTSI-THULARE AJ
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT, PRETORIA
APPEARANCES:
Applicant
Counsel
for the Applicant
Adv
Thembi Sebata
Instructed
by
PVM
Attorneys Inc
Counsel
for the First and
M
Gwala SC
Second
Respondent
Instructed
by
Ngeno
and Mteto Inc
Counsel
for the Third Respondent
Adv C
Jacobs
Instructed
by
Ronelle
de Villiers Attorneys
DATE
OF HEARING:
04
August 2023
DATE
OF JUDGMENT:
03
November 2023
[1]
Minister
of Law and Order, Bophuthatswana, and Another v Committee of the
Church Summit of Bophuthatswana
and
others
1994
4 All SA 448
(B)
;
1994 3 SA 89
(B)
at p97–98.
[2]
Id at p p8. (citing Setlogelo v Setlogelo
1914
AD 221
227
).
[3]
(Pty)
Ltd
1992
(2) SA 459 (C).
[4]
Id at 326.
[5]
Minister
of Law and Order, Bophuthatswana, and Another v Committee of the
Church Summit of Bophuthatswana
and
others
1994
4 All SA 448
(B)
;
1994 3 SA 89
(B)
at p97–98.
[6]
Id at p98.
[7]
Id at p98.
[8]
1961
(2) SA 505 (W)
at
515-8.
[9]
Minister
of Law and Order, Bophuthatswana, and Another v Committee of the
Church Summit
of
Bophuthatswana
and others
1994
4 All SA 448
(B)
;
1994 3 SA 89
at
p 98.
[10]
Id at p99.
[11]
Minister
of Justice v SA Associated Newspapers Ltd and Another
1979
(3) SA 466
(c) at p474.
[12]
Transvaal
Property & Investment Co Ltd and Reinhold & Co v SA
Townships Mining & Finance Corp Ltd and the Administrator
1938
TPD at p521.
[13]
Free State Gold Areas Ltd v
Merriespruit (Orange Free State) Gold Mining
Co Ltd and
Another
1961
(2) SA 505
(w) at p524.
[14]
See
Minister
of Law and Order supra
at
p99.
[15]
Beecham Group Ltd v B -M
Group (Pty) Ltd
1977
(1) SA 50
(t) at p54.
[16]
NCSPCA
v Openshaw
[2008] ZASCA 78
;
2008
(5) SA 339
(SCA)
at
para [20].
[17]
Hotz
v UCT
2017
(2) SA 485
(SCA) at para 20.
[18]
[2019]
JOL 42441
(SCA) at para 27
.
[19]
[2013]
ZASCA 19
;
2013 (3) SA 331
(SCA) at para 14.
[20]
[1998]
ZASCA 29
;
1998 (3) SA 200
(SCA);
[1998] 2 All SA 571
(A) at para 8.
[21]
Id
at para 8.
[22]
Van
Rensburg ADJ, ‘The Law of South Africa (LAWSA)Contract (Volume
9 - Third Edition)’31 October 2014.
[23]
Ibid
[24]
Ibid.
[25]
Ibid.
[26]
1934
AD 458.
[27]
Id at para 465.
[28]
(1)
SA 439 (SCA) at p541.
[29]
Magidimisi
v
Premier
of
the
Eastern
Cape
&
others
[2006]
JOL 17274
(C).
[30]
Id para 18.
[31]
Minister
of Tourism and Others v Afriforum NPC
and Another
[2023] ZACC 7
para 23.
sino noindex
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