Case Law[2022] ZAGPPHC 342South Africa
Mary Tondolo t/a Tondolo Partnership v M.J. Mboya Project Managers CC and Another (A270/20) [2022] ZAGPPHC 342 (12 May 2022)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
12 May 2022
Headnotes
judgment application. Due to the defences raised, leave was granted and the matter proceeded to trial. The matter suffered some delay due to Respondents’ failure to provide proper or sufficient discovery. As aforesaid, after the presentation of evidence, the appellant’s claim was dismissed. (3) Pursuant to the granting of leave to appeal as early as 20 July 2020 the date of hearing of the appeal was set. The Respondents were properly notified of the appeal hearing date. There was no response from the Respondents. The appeal proceedings were set-down for 04 November 2021. On the 02 November 2021, a notice of withdrawal as attorneys of record was filed by the Respondents’
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## Mary Tondolo t/a Tondolo Partnership v M.J. Mboya Project Managers CC and Another (A270/20) [2022] ZAGPPHC 342 (12 May 2022)
Mary Tondolo t/a Tondolo Partnership v M.J. Mboya Project Managers CC and Another (A270/20) [2022] ZAGPPHC 342 (12 May 2022)
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sino date 12 May 2022
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
CASE
NUMBER: A270/20
REPORTABLE:
NO.
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
REVISED.
DATE:
12 MAY 2022
In
the matter between:
MARY
TONDOLO t/a TONDOLO PARTNERSHIP
Applicant
and
M.J. MBOYA PROJECT
MANAGERS CC
1
st
Respondent
MHLAWAKHE
JOEL
MBOYA
2
nd
Respondent
J U D G M E N T
MANYATHI,
AJ
INTRODUCTION:
(1)
This is an appeal to a full court that
emanates against the judgment handed down by our brother Mabuse J on
2 July 2019, dismissing
the Appellant’s claim with costs. On 22
August 2019 leave to appeal to the full court of this division was
granted by the
court a quo
.
The evidence of the parties is already on record. Only relevant
portions of the evidence on record will be referred to for purpose
of
emphasis or if need be. This judgement will only focus on aspects
which forms the subject of this appeal.
(2)
It is my view that the court need briefly
state the history of this matter before us, for reasons that will
follow hereinafter.
After institution of the action in December 2015,
it proceeded to a summary judgment application. Due to the defences
raised, leave
was granted and the matter proceeded to trial. The
matter suffered some delay due to Respondents’ failure to
provide proper
or sufficient discovery. As aforesaid, after the
presentation of evidence, the appellant’s claim was dismissed.
(3)
Pursuant to the granting of leave to appeal
as early as 20 July 2020 the date of hearing of the appeal was set.
The Respondents
were properly notified of the appeal hearing date.
There was no response from the Respondents. The appeal proceedings
were set-down
for 04 November 2021. On the 02 November 2021, a notice
of withdrawal as attorneys of record was filed by the Respondents’
attorneys, citing a lack of financial instructions as the reason for
withdrawal. On the day of the hearing a new attorney appeared
on
behalf of the Respondents requesting postponement of the matter for
him to prepare as he was only instructed two days before
the appeal
hearing.
(4)
The
court dismissed the application for postponement and applied the
Provision of Section 19 Supreme Court Act
[1]
,
on the following reasons:
1.
The manner the Respondents pleaded in the
main action unduly delayed the finalisation of the proceedings.
2.
While the Respondents had been aware of the
pending appeal for a period of a year, no action was taken.
3.
The record constitutes 27 Volumes and for a
court to read all that in preparation of an appeal, only to be
informed a day before
hearing that the Respondents are not ready to
proceed and with no tangible reasons provided for such application,
amounts to an
abuse of process.
4.
More importantly, it is incumbent on the
courts to make sure that every litigant’s Constitutional right
to speedy finalisation
of their matters is achieved, thereby
preventing unnecessary costs or financial prejudice for both parties
involved.
(5)
As a result of the above-mentioned reasons,
the court proceeded to consider the appeal in order to finalise the
appeal proceedings
and to put closure on this matter that has been in
the roll of this court for a period of five years.
FACTUAL
BACKGROUND:
(6)
During
June 2011, the North-West Department of Health issued a tender for
the building of four Community Health Centres in various
areas in the
Province. The first Respondent (Mboya Project Managers CC) was
appointed as the Project Manager of all those projects.
First
Respondent then appointed the Appellant (Tondolo Partnership) as the
architect in all the projects
[2]
.
(7)
The First Respondent and the Appellant
entered into a verbal agreement in respect of the manner of payment
and written agreement
as far as the fee structure was concerned.
During the period November 2011 until July 2015 the Appellant
provided architectural
services as agreed and to the satisfaction of
the First Respondent. The Appellant invoiced the First Respondent for
work done and
completed during that period. The First Respondent paid
the Appellant but and some invoices were not paid.
(8)
During
2015 a considerable friction ensued between them as a result of this
non-payment. As a result of the non-payment of invoices
submitted to
the first Respondent for work done, the Appellant refused to provide
further services. Pursuant to this the First
Respondent on the 28
July 2015 addressed a letter to the Appellant, terminating
Appellant’s contract
[3]
.
(9)
Subsequent to that the First Respondent
ignored all the demands for payment. On the 12 December 2015 the
Appellant instituted legal
action for the amount owing and due to
her. The Second Respondent was sued in his personal capacity as the
sole director of the
First Respondent, jointly and severally for the
debts of the First Respondent.
APPELLANT’S
VERSION ON THE PLEADINGS:
(10)
The Applicant’s version is to the
effect that a contract was entered between her and the Second
Respondent in his capacity
as the First Respondent’s
representative and sole director. Their contract was partly oral and
partly written. The Appellant
performed architectural services on
four Community Health Centres. Invoices for the work done were
submitted to the First Respondent
for payment, who in turn would
invoice the Department for payment of such invoices. It was their
agreement that the First Respondent
will pay the Appellant within 30
days from the date of submission of such invoices, alternatively
within reasonable time of the
submission of the invoices.
(11)
It was however a further term of the
agreement that the First Respondent was only liable to pay Appellant,
once the Department had
paid the First Respondent. Therefore, payment
of the Appellant was conditional on the Department paying the First
Respondent.
(12)
The Appellant performed as required by the
agreement. Invoices for work done for period 2011 to 2015, were
submitted to the First
Respondent from time to time for payment. The
amount due and payable to the Appellant for invoices submitted
amounted to R15 114
267.25. By the 28 July 2015, First Respondent had
only effected payment in the amount of R8 648 287.00 to the
Appellant,
with the shortfall of R6 456 958.00 forming the
subject of the claim before the court a quo. Several attempts were
made
by the Appellant to get an explanation from the Respondent as to
the balance due to her, but the Respondents ignored her. When no
explanation was forthcoming from the First Respondent but the action
was defended, the Appellant instituted summary judgement application.
The Respondent’s defence then raised was that the Department
had not made payments due to queries raised with regard to the
Appellant’s drawings. The matter was therefore subsequently
placed on the trial roll.
RESPONDENTS’
VERSION ON THE PLEADINGS:
(13)
The Respondents do not dispute the amounts
claimed by the Appellant in total, nor the balance owed and due to
the Appellant. The
Respondents raised several defences to the
Appellant’s claim. During the summary judgement application the
Respondents’
defence was that the Department had not paid the
Appellant’s invoices, due to the queries with regard to the
Appellant’s
drawings.
(14)
The main defence pleaded by the Respondents
remained that the Department of Health had not paid the First
Respondent for invoices
submitted to it. The Appellant made two
applications for further particulars in order to get an explanation
as to why the Department
allegedly had not paid. In his reply to
these requests, the Second Respondent stated “that the
Department did not respond
why they don’t pay the Appellant’s
invoices”. The Respondents did not provide a answer to the
crucial question,
which also formed the basis of their defence.
COMMON
CAUSE:
(15)
On
the proper reading of the record, the following appears to be common
cause
[4]
:
(a)
That the First Respondent would affect
payment of the Appellant’s invoices within 30 days from the
receipt of any such invoices,
alternatively within a reasonable time
upon receipt of any such invoices, but subject thereto that First
Respondent would only
be liable to make payment of the Appellant’s
invoices submitted to it, upon the Department of Health making
payment to the
First Respondent.
(b)
In the event that First Respondent was not
paid by the Department of Health, the First Respondent was not liable
to pay the Appellant
for any invoices.
(c)
It must follow that, should the Department
not pay timeously- the payment period might not only be extended, but
liability may completely
be avoided in the event of total
non-payment.
(d)
This tacit agreement between the Appellant
and Second Respondent was further canvassed during cross-examination
by both legal representatives,
and confirmed as a true reflection of
their agreement.
FINDINGS
OF THE COURT
A QUO:
(16)
The
court a
quo
dismissed the Appellant’s
claim on the basis that the Appellant failed to prove on a balance of
probabilities the following:-
1.
The tacit terms on which Appellant’s
claim is predicated.
2.
That the North-West Department of Health
has made payments to the First Respondent in respect of the invoices
she had submitted
to the Respondents.
3.
That the money paid to the First
Respondent’s bank account, was meant for the invoices she
submitted.
4.
That
the conduct of the Second Respondent was conduct envisaged
[5]
in the provisions of Sec 64 of the Close Corporation Act
[6]
,
rendering him personally liable.
ISSUES
TO BE DECIDED:
(17)
On appeal this court is called upon to
determine the correctness of the findings of the court
a
quo
and in effect to decide on the
evidence presented the following:
(a)
Whether Appellant had discharged the onus
on her showing that the First Respondent had received payment from
the Department of Health.
(b)
Whether Second Respondent should be held
personally liable in respect of the debts of the First Respondent.
EVALUTION
OF EVIDENCE:
(18)
Due to the fact that both the Appellant and
the First Respondent presented similar evidence it must be accepted
as common cause
that there was a tacit agreement between the parties
with regard to the payment period and liability as set out in
paragraph 15
above.
(19)
The effect of this agreement is that the
payment of the Appellant was conditional on the Department paying the
First Respondent.
The First Respondent’s main defence to the
Appellant’s claim, is that the Department did not pay him and
therefore
not liable to the Appellant. Put differently, the condition
on which payment must be done, has not eventuated or been fulfilled.
The Appellant therefore, bears the onus to show on the balance of
probabilities, that the Department had effected payment to First
Respondent in respect of monies claimed by it in respect of services
rendered by the Appellant, as covered by the Appellant’s
invoices.
(20)
As
to which of the professional’s invoices were submitted by the
Respondents for payment; how much was claimed from the Department;
and when the claims were paid were matters falling within the
knowledge of the Respondents and the Department. The professionals
on
the projects were not privy to such information. The appellant was
not in a position to verify whether the Respondents had submitted
invoices to the Department or had received payment in respect of
their invoices
[7]
.
(21)
It is on record that the First Respondent
did not follow the back-to-back invoicing but “progress
invoicing” when claiming
from the Department. There was no
proper correlation of the Appellant’s invoices with those of
the consolidated invoices
submitted to the Department with regard to
dates and amounts claimed and paid. The Appellant did not know how
the Respondent calculated
the amount claimed. This information was
also exclusively within the knowledge of the Respondent. The
Appellant was reliant on
the
bona fides
of the First Respondent that she will be paid for architectural
services rendered, when the Respondents received payment from the
Department. Only the Respondent knew as to how much and when did the
Department made payment. The Appellant was supposed to submit
only
the invoices of architectural services rendered for payment to the
Respondent.
(22)
To succeed in her claim, the Appellant has
to prove that the Respondent was paid by the Department of Health;
and how much was paid
in response of Architect fees. Any request for
such information from the Respondent was ignored. None of this
information was disclosed
during the exchange of pleadings. The
Second Respondent gave different reasons why the money was not paid.
(23)
The Second Respondent was evasive and disingenuous with regard to the
question whether
he was paid the architect’s fees. The Second
Respondent failed to answer this question several times during the
exchange
of pleadings. The following extracts from the pleadings
serve as examples:-
(24)
In her
first request for further particulars, the Appellant put the
following question to Respondents
[8]
:
“
Is it the
Defendants’ case that the First Defendant did not receive
payment from NWDOH in respect of any of the invoices forming
the
subject of the Plaintiff’s claim?
”.
Defendants’
response:
“
The
First Defendant has made demanded for outstanding fees for the
Department of Health North-West Province
[9]
”.
(25)
The
Appellant in her second request for further particulars raised the
following query amongst others
[10]
:-
“
Specify, in
respect of each such invoices, whether the Province gave any
indication as to the acceptability or not of the invoices,
or any
reason for the alleged non-payment of such invoices by the
Province
[11]
”.
Defendant’s
response:
“
In some
instances the Department demanded attendance registers and in certain
circumstances there has been no response from the
Department
[12]
”.
(26)
The abovementioned extracts from the
pleadings indicate that the Respondents were not prepared to provide
information with regard
to payments done for architectural services
rendered. As a result, it became difficult for the Appellant to prove
issues that have
a direct bearing on the facts that are in dispute
between the parties, which issues or facts fall particularly within
the knowledge
of the Respondents.
(27)
In order to meet this difficulty, the
Appellant tendered the evidence of three witnesses in support of her
claim. Ms Zoe Scholtz,
an auditor, analysed the consolidated invoices
submitted by the Respondents to the Department and paid by it. She
compared the
consolidated invoice and what was paid by the Department
into the First Respondent’s bank account. Ms Scholtz’s
report
indicates that the First Respondent invoiced and was paid the
amount of R47 862 231.91 in total for a period from
November
2011 until December 2014. Out of the said amount,
R15 114 267.25 was for architects fees. Both Mr Mosimanyane
and Mr
Kamunyu who are employed by the Department as Director Finance
and Director Infrastructure respectively corroborated Ms Scholtz’s
report. The salient feature of their evidence is that not only had
the invoices that First Respondent had submitted and ben paid
for
included architects fees, but that all the architects fees claimed
from the Department were paid in full.
(28)
Mr Kamunyu’s evidence was to the
effect that the consolidated invoice indicates who and how much each
professional should
be paid. The First Respondent did not claim in
the abstract, but what it claimed was based on the invoices submitted
to it by respective
professionals. The Department believed that First
Respondent will in turn pay these professionals whose particulars
appeared on
the consolidated invoice. Put differently, if the
architect fees are included in the consolidated invoice, the
Department will
pay the architect fees to the First Respondent, but
those fees are meant for the architect.
(29)
The evidence of these three witnesses
clearly demonstrated the procedures followed by the First Respondent
to claim from the Department.
Their evidence establish beyond any
balance of probabilities that the architects fees included in the
consolidated invoices submitted
by the First Respondent, had been
paid in full by the Department. The Second Respondent conceded under
cross-examination the following:
(1)
That he received the invoices from the
architect and that he did not pay such invoices.
(2)
That invoices contained in Ms Scholtz’s
report (A3) each included an amount raised in respect of architect
fees, and these
have been paid by the Department.
(30)
The Second Respondent’s admission
under cross-examination negates the Respondents’ defence that
the First Respondent
was not paid by the Department. In my view, the
question whether the Department had paid the appellant’s
invoices had been
settled by the concessions made by the Second
Respondent.
(31)
The Second Respondent was not only defiant
but also evasive in answering the question as to whom those fees in
respect of architects’
fees included in the First Respondent’s
invoices relate to, if not the Appellant, seeing that she was the
only architect
on those projects. The Second Respondent’s view
that what he claimed and for who he claimed is a matter between him
and the
Department and has nothing to do with the Appellant, is a
transparent attempt at evasion of liability. This attempt at evasion
is clearly captured from answers given during the trial.
(32)
Q: Mr Nalane: “
Mr
Mboya, you have also heard from the evidence of Ms Tondolo that she
was shocked to hear that you had been paid so much money
and that you
claim over and above what she had charged? What is your response to
that?
”
A: Mr Mboya: “
What
I claim from the Department, it does not mean I must pay it to her
because I have got a different arrangement with the Department and
she has got a different arrangement with MJ Mboya
”.
He
further proceeded and state:-
“
The
Architect is a sub-contract to me, so what I claim from me, what is
due to them.
So it has got
nothing to do with the invoices that the Architect has claimed
”.
(33)
The Second Respondent’s answers not
only evaded the question asked, but also creates an impression that
he possess a discretion
as to who to pay or not. His view was the
fact that he had claimed for architect fees did not mean that those
fees are meant for
the Appellant, or that the Respondents were
obliged to pay those fees to her. This view does not constitute a
defence. The
court a quo
seems to have agreed or endorsed this clearly erroneous view in its
judgement when it said as one of the grounds whereby it dismissed
the
Appellant’s claim:-
“
That the
Appellant failed to prove that the money paid to the First Respondent
bank account was for invoices she submitted for her
”.
(34)
The
Second Respondent’s bold statement that the Department had not
paid him was not substantiated either during pleadings,
nor the
trial. The evidence of Ms Scholtz; Mr Mosimanyane and Mr Kamunyu were
not contradicted. The Respondents conceded that they
had claimed and
had been paid for architects fees. The Second Respondent’s
evidence shows that he attempted to jump from
one defence to another,
in an attempt to explain why the fees had not been paid to appellant.
With regard to the Respondent’s,
different defences, even the
court
a quo
said, “
it
leaves doubt in the mind of the court whether the First Defendant’s
defences are genuine
[13]
”.
(35)
The
court a quo also found that the Second Respondent’s evidence
was unsatisfactory with regard to the reasons for failing
or refusing
or neglecting to pay Appellant’s fees
[14]
.
The Appellant needed only to prove on the balance of probabilities
that the First Respondent had claimed and had been paid the
architect
fees. In my view the Appellant had succeeded in proving that the
First Respondent had been paid the fees due to the Appellant
by the
Department in full.
(36)
The evidence clearly established that the
First Respondent had claimed for architectural fees for the period
November 2011 to December
2014 and was paid R15 114 267 .28 in
respect thereof. The court a quo had accepted that evidence.
(37)
Nothing much need be said about the defence
that the Appellant’s drawings were queried by the Department.
These drawings were
discovered by the Appellant. The Respondents
could not point out any queries that caused the Department not to
pay, nor produce
any correspondence from the Department to that
effect.
(38)
In addition to the fact that these
“defences” were only raised during cross-examination, Ms
Van der Vyver and Mr Nel
gave plausible evidence which disproved
those defences.
(39)
Taking into account that the Respondents
failed to give an explanation as to whom the architect fees that the
First Respondent had
included in its invoices to the Department
relate, if not the appellant, leads one to the inevitable conclusion
that the Second
Respondent’s version in his evidence, which had
not been pleaded, namely that those fees might have been in respect
of some
other architect, is nothing but another attempted at evading
liability. This version should be rejected
UNPAID
INVOICES:
(40)
There
was a further aspect which apparently concerned the Court a quo. This
related to two unpaid invoices of the First Respondent.
The Appellant
sought to prove her claim by tendering the evidence of Ms Scholtz, Mr
Mosimanyane and Mr Kamunyu. They corroborated
each other with regard
to the fact that all architects fees, claimed by the Appellant had
been paid by the Department. The
court
a quo
rejected the evidence of Ms Scholtz and Mr Mosimanyane as unreliable.
This rejection was based on the evidence of Mr Kamunyu, who
testified
that two invoices submitted by First Respondent were not paid. The
court found that the failure by Ms Scholtz and Mr
Mosimanyane to
mention those two invoices, render their evidence unreliable, with
regards to their evidence that
all
invoices had been paid. Therefore the court a quo found that the
Appellant had failed to prove her claim
[15]
.
(41)
I am of the view that the
court
a quo
failed to properly consider the
relevance to be attached to the two invoices that were not paid. My
view is informed by the following
facts:
(a)
The evidence of Ms Scholtz and Mr
Mosimanyane, was based on all the invoices that were claimed and paid
in full (A3 bundle) and
which relate to the Appellant’s claim.
(b)
The two unpaid invoices did not form part
of the basis of the Appellant’s claim, neither did the Second
Respondent testify
that those two invoices were part of the invoices
submitted for payment.
(c)
Furthermore, the said unpaid invoices did
not include any architects fees, but related to a disbursement claim
of the First Respondent.
(d)
The Respondent did not make any discovery
in respect of the two invoices, and lastly.
(e)
The two unpaid invoices were not even
submitted for payment at the time when this action commenced. The
evidence on record is that
they were re-submitted in September 2017.
(42)
The evidence of the witnesses was in
respect of invoices submitted and paid by the Department for the
period October 2011 up until
December 2014. Reference by the
witnesses to
all
invoices, in the context of payment, must be confined, firstly to the
said period and secondly, to invoices which included architectural
services rendered during that period. With due deference to the court
a quo, any interpretation to cover invoices that were not
claimed at
the commencement of the action, and which did not include architect
fees, is misplaced. I am further of the view that
the
court
a quo
disregarded the irrelevance of
the two invoices in the determination of the facts placed before it.
(43)
The two unpaid invoices therefore did not
help the Respondents’ case nor should they have impacted
negatively upon the veracity
of the testimonials of Ms Scholtz or Mr
Mosimanyane. As a result, I find no plausible reason to reject the
evidence of the said
witnesses as being in contradiction with that of
Mr Kamunyu. Insofar as these two invoices formed part of the reasons
for the dismissal
of the Appellant’s claim, this was clearly
done in error.
(44)
The
Appellant’s claim in respect of the personal liability of Mr
Mboya (Second Respondent) is based on the abuse of the corporate
juristic personality of Mboya CC (First Respondent), thus attracting
personal liability in terms of Section 64 alternatively Section
65
[16]
. The general rule is
that when a corporation is registered an individual entity separate
from that of its shareholders is created.
This enables the
corporation to function under its own name, as a juristic person. Put
differently, “
All
human beings are persons but not all persons are human beings
”.
A company as a juristic person can sue and be sued in its capacity as
juristic person. The company does not only have rights,
but also duty
to pay its creditors, hence limitation of liability of those
directors behind the company.
(45)
Any director or member who recklessly
conducts the affairs of a corporate entity run the risk of attracting
personal liability.
The court looks at the substance of things rather
than mere legal form, in deciding the personal liability of director
or members.
Courts will not allow the entity to be used to justify
wrong conduct, protect fraud or defend crime.
(46)
Ms Scholtz identified 310 transactions in
the Frist Respondent’s bank account statements with “debit
card purchases”
as descriptions. Her analyses of the bank
statement reveal that the Second Respondent a sole member of the
corporation, used the
close corporation’s funds for his own
benefit. An amount of R5 527 280.81 was used for amongst
others, paying for
his own residence; children school fees and
personal clothing.
(47)
The Second Respondent holds the view that
he can do as he pleases with the corporation’s funds. His
evidence indicates that
the close corporation was an extension of
himself. In holding this view, he does not recognise any distinction
between himself
and the close corporation. The following extracts
from the record of proceedings bears testimony to this view: “……
..
so whether he buys liquor or he pays the gym, it is up to Mr Mboya to
decide how he spend HIS money
.”
He further admits that he made payment for his private residence in
the amount of some R4 million.
(48)
The Second Respondent knew at all material
times that the close corporation owes creditors, specifically the
appellant. He recklessly
spent the corporation’s funds for his
personal benefit. His conduct amounted to a sheer disregard of the
debts of the corporation,
and its separate juristic personality.
(49)
Henochsberg
on the Companies Act
[17]
,
describe such conduct as follows: -
“
That
the carrying on of the business of a company recklessly mean
“carrying it on by conduct which evince a lack of any genuine
concern for its prosperity.” A fortiori if one deliberately
depletes the company’s assets, or misuses its corporate
form
for one’s own purposes, then that conduct will fall within the
ambit of Sec 424
”.
(50)
The
same principle was formulated with regard to Close Corporations in
the form of Section 64
[18]
.
This principle was quoted with approval in the case of
Ebrahim
v Airport Cold Storage
[19]
- where
Cameron
J
stated: -
“……
The
section retracts the fundamental attributes of corporate personality,
namely separate legal existence, with its corollary of
autonomous and
independent liability for debts, when the level of mismanagement of
the corporation’s affairs exceeds the
merely inept of
incompetent and becomes needlessly gross or dishonest. The provision
in effect exacts a quid pro quo: for the benefit
of immunity from
liability for its debts, those running the corporation may not use
its formal identity to incur obligations recklessly,
grossly
negligently or fraudulently. If they do they risk being made
personally liable
”.
The
court a
quo’s
finding that the Second Respondent “
was
therefore at large to use, the money in Mboya CC’s bank
accounts at his pleasure
[20]
”
is in contrast with the well-established principle of company and
close corporation legislation and cannot be endorsed.
(51)
The Second Respondent was well aware that
an amount of R48 million was paid to the First Respondent’s
account by the Department
and that ±R15 million of that amount
was claimed on behalf of the appellant. Further he was aware that the
First Respondent
owed the Appellant an amount of ± R7 million.
The Second Respondent recklessly used the said money for purposes
totally
unconnected with the business or the corporation.
CONCLUSION:
(52)
In conclusion, I find that the
court
a quo
erred in dismissing the
Appellant’s claim in respect of all the invoices that were paid
in full with regard to architects
fees and that the Second Respondent
is personally jointly and severally with the First Respondent liable
for payment of the amounts
due.
As
a result, I suggest the following order: -
(1)
The Appeal is upheld with costs against the
Respondents, jointly and severally, including the costs of the
application for leave
to appeal;
(2)
The order of the court a quo is replaced
with the following:
1.
“
Mboya CC is ordered to make payment
to the plaintiff in the amount of R6 456 958.00 (Six
Million, Four Hundred and Fifty
Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifty
Eight Rands), together with the interest thereon from the date of
demand.
2.
Mr Mboya is declared to be personally
liable to the Appellant in respect of Mboya CC’s aforesaid
debts, jointly and severally
therewith.
3.
The Defendants are ordered to pay the costs
of the action”.
B.P.
MANYATHI
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
I
agree:
C.
SARDIWALLA
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
I
agree and it is so ordered:
N.
DAVIS
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
DATE
HEARD:
04 November 2021
JUDGMENT
DELIVERED: 12 May
2022
APPEARANCES
FOR
THE APPELLANT:
ADV I JOUBERT SC
INSTRUCTED
BY:
ROELF NEL INC, PRETORIA
FOR
THE RESPONENT:
NO APPEARANCE
[1]
Supreme Court Act
[2]
Vol 2, pp 142 - 143 – Plea parag 18 – 18:5
[3]
Vol
4, pp 148 and 150 and Vol 4 pp 169
[4]
Vol
2, pp 138-139 Plea: parag 7:2
[5]
Vol
26 – Judgment parag 97
[6]
Close
Corporation Act 69 of 1984
[7]
Vol
6 pp 201-202
[8]
Vol
2, pp153 – First Request for further particulars
[9]
Vol 2, pp163 – Respondent’s response to further
particulars
[10]
Vol
2, pp161 – Second Request for further particulars
[11]
Vol
2, pp167 – Appellant’s Second request for particulars
[12]
Vol
2, pp175-176 – Respondent’s Response
[13]
Vol
26 Judgment parag 89-90
[14]
Vol
26 Judgment parag 88, pp45
[15]
Vol
26 Judgment para 88 pp45
[16]
Close
Corporation Act 69 of 1984
[17]
Companies Act 71 of 2008
Vol 1 (Durban: Lexus Nexis 2011)
[18]
Close
Corporation Act 69 of 1984
[19]
[2008] ZASCA 113
;
2008
(6) SA 585
(SCA) at par (14)
[20]
Vol
26 Judgment parag 96
sino noindex
make_database footer start
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