Case Law[2025] ZAWCHC 338South Africa
Pareto Limited and Another v Kotze (14109/2024) [2025] ZAWCHC 338; [2025] 4 All SA 450 (WCC) (8 August 2025)
Headnotes
judgment requires no triable issues to succeed – Warranted a full trial given contractual provisions and parties’ divergent interpretations of entitlement to rental relief during pandemic – Summary judgment refused.
Judgment
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# South Africa: Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
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## Pareto Limited and Another v Kotze (14109/2024) [2025] ZAWCHC 338; [2025] 4 All SA 450 (WCC) (8 August 2025)
Pareto Limited and Another v Kotze (14109/2024) [2025] ZAWCHC 338; [2025] 4 All SA 450 (WCC) (8 August 2025)
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sino date 8 August 2025
FLYNOTES:
CONTRACT – Lease –
Covid-19
lockdown
–
Unpaid
rental – Lockdown regulations hindered ability to trade –
Covid-19 defence raised a triable issue –
Prevented or
hindered from performing in terms of lease due to force majeure –
Defence met required threshold –
Summary judgment requires
no triable issues to succeed – Warranted a full trial given
contractual provisions and parties’
divergent
interpretations of entitlement to rental relief during pandemic –
Summary judgment refused.
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(WESTERN
CAPE DIVISION, CAPE TOWN)
Case No:14109/2024
In
the matter between:
PARETO
LIMITED
First Applicant / Plaintiff
MOMENTUM
METROPOLITAN LIFE LIMITED
Second Applicant / Plaintiff
and
RIKUS
DIRK JANSEN KOTZE
Respondent /Defendant
Court: Justice
J Cloete
Heard: 5
August 2025
Delivered
electronically: 8 August 2025
JUDGMENT
Cloete
J:
Introduction
[1]
This is an opposed application for summary judgment in which the
plaintiffs
seek orders against the defendant for payment of R
2 865 335.56 plus interest at the legal rate
a tempore
morae
and costs on the scale as between attorney and client. The
plaintiffs are the joint registered owners of the Tyger Valley Centre
in Bellville, Western Cape. On 12 March 2017 the plaintiffs, duly
represented by Ms T Heiman, and Thumbnail Advertising (Pty) Ltd
(‘Thumbnail’), duly represented by the defendant,
concluded a written lease agreement (‘the agreement’)
in
respect of Shop LL019 in the Tyger Valley Centre. Earlier on 12
January 2017 the defendant in writing bound himself as
surety and
co-principal debtor to the plaintiffs for the due fulfilment of all
the obligations of Thumbnail in terms of the agreement.
Thumbnail
operated a restaurant from the leased premises. From what can
be gleaned from the papers, Thumbnail took
occupation on 1 May 2017.
It vacated on or about 28 February 2023. It was placed in final
liquidation on 28 November 2023. The
plaintiffs sue the
defendant in his capacity as surety and co-principal debtor.
[2]
In terms of clause 3 of the schedule to the agreement, the lease
period
was for 5 years commencing on 1 May 2017 and terminating on 30
April 2022. Clause 2.3 of the general conditions in the agreement
provides as follows:
‘
If the TENANT
remains in occupation of the Leased Premises after the expiry of this
Lease, then the Tenant’s occupation …shall
be deemed to
be on a monthly tenancy, subject to a 12.5% escalation …per
annum Increase in the Monthly Rental and Promotional
Costs and a 14%
[increase] in respect of the Operating Costs on the expiry date and
on the anniversary of such expiry date of each
year thereafter while
the Tenant remains in occupation of the Leased Premises, but subject
in all other respects to the terms and
conditions of this Contract.’
[3]
In terms of clause 11.1 of the general conditions, Thumbnail was
obliged
‘to trade in and keep the Leased Premises continuously
open to the public during the business hours as determined from time
to time by the Landlord as being beneficial to the Shopping Centre
…[t]he aforegoing obligations shall be suspended however
on
such days during which strikes, lock-outs or other similar
circumstances beyond the TENANT’s control render it
unreasonable
for the TENANT to trade from the Leased Premises.’
[4]
Clause 25 of the general conditions deals with
force majeure
and
provides in relevant part that:
‘
In the event that
the LANDLORD or the TENANT shall be delayed or hindered in or
prevented from doing or performing any act or thing
required
hereunder by reason of …governmental regulations …then
the LANDLORD shall not be responsible for such delays
and the doing
or performing of such act or thing shall be excused for the period of
the delay … and extended for a period
equivalent to the period
of such delay.’
[5]
The consequences of Thumbnail being prevented from, or hindered in,
trading
by
inter alia
governmental regulations were thus
contractually regulated in the agreement. Clause 25
notwithstanding, as a result of the
Covid-19 lockdown which commenced
on 26 March 2020, the plaintiffs provided Thumbnail with the
following relief: (1) 100% rental
relief for the months of April and
May 2020; (2) 85% rental relief for the months of June and July 2020;
and (3) 50% rental relief
for the month of August 2020. The
defendant’s own schedule annexed to his plea reflects the
lockdown levels for the corresponding
periods as follows: (1) March
and April 2020 at level 5; (2) May 2020 at level 4: and (3) 1 June
2020 to 17 August 2020 at level
3. Thereafter, and apart from
adjusted level 4 for the period 28 June until 25 July 2021, the
levels, again on the defendant’s
version, ranged between level
1 and adjusted level 3.
[6]
The plaintiffs allege that Thumbnail breached the agreement by
failing
and/or refusing to pay arrear rental and other charges (as
detailed on annexure POC 2 to their particulars of claim) for the
period
1 August 2020 to 28 February 2023 in the sum claimed (after
deduction of the deposit paid by Thumbnail of R 538 411). In
terms of clause 19.1 of the general conditions, in the event of such
default, the plaintiffs are entitled to claim payment, and
in the
event of instituting proceedings for recovery, costs on the scale as
between attorney and client in terms of clause 19.3.
[7]
Clause 23 of the general conditions is a no-variation clause. It
provides
that:
‘
23.1 This lease
and the Annexures thereto constitute the entire agreement between the
parties and no warranties or representations,
whether express or
implied, not recorded herein and the Annexures hereto shall be
binding on the parties.
23.2 No variation of, or
addition to, this lease and Annexures hereto shall be binding on the
parties unless reduced to writing
and duly signed by them or on their
behalf.’
Procedural
history and condonation
[8]
After service of the summons and after having entered appearance to
defend,
the defendant delivered both a plea and counterclaim on 2
October 2024, the latter for debatement of annexure POC 2. The
plaintiffs
delivered an exception to the counterclaim on 24 October
2024 (ie, on the 16
th
court day thereafter but within the
period allowed therefor) and the defendant subsequently withdrew the
counterclaim on 14 November
2024. By the time the exception was
delivered, and the counterclaim subsequently withdrawn, the period of
15 court days stipulated
in uniform rule 32(2)(a) for the delivery of
an application for summary judgment had expired (on 23 October 2024).
The application
was delivered on 5 December 2024, thus on the 15
th
day after the defendant withdrew his counterclaim. The plaintiffs
submitted that, given their exception to the counterclaim, they
were
unable to apply for summary judgment within the period in rule
32(2)(a); alternatively, they seek condonation for the late
delivery
thereof.
[9]
The defendant, relying on
Pareto
Limited and Another v Theron and Another
[1]
(‘
Theron’
)
submitted that because the subrule rule is ‘peremptory’,
condonation should be refused. I take a different view, principally
for two reasons. First, in terms of rule 24(1), a defendant is
obliged to deliver a counterclaim simultaneously with his or her
plea. In the present matter the defendant’s counterclaim
pertained directly to the sum claimed by the plaintiffs in their
particulars of claim. Accordingly, had the plaintiffs proceeded with
an application for summary judgment in the face of that counterclaim
there is little doubt it would have been refused, since rule 32 does
not permit a litigant to apply for summary judgment in respect
of a
counterclaim. If the defendant’s submission is to be accepted,
it would have the illogical consequence that any defendant
may avoid
the entire summary judgment procedure by simply delivering a spurious
counterclaim (along with a plea) directly related
to a plaintiff’s
claim, only to withdraw it upon expiry of the 15 day period
prescribed in rule 32(2)(a).
[10]
Second, the court in
Theron
proceeded
from the premise that the summary judgment procedure is of a ‘drastic
nature’. While this was the approach
of our courts in the
past, since 2009 the Supreme Court of Appeal has adopted a different
view. In
Joob
Joob Investments (Pty) Ltd v Stocks Mavundla Zek Joint Venture
[2]
it was stated that:
‘
[32] …After
almost a century of successful application in our courts, summary
judgment proceedings can hardly
continue to be described
as extraordinary …
[33] Having regard to the
purpose and its proper application, summary judgment proceedings only
hold terrors and are “drastic”
for a defendant who has no
defence. Perhaps the time has come to discard these labels and to
concentrate rather on the proper application
of the rule…’
[11]
To this I would add that
rule 27(1), which permits a court to grant condonation on notice and
good cause shown, specifically provides
that it applies to all the
rules of the High Court (thus including rule 32); rule 27(2) permits
condonation to be granted even
if sought only after the expiry of a
stipulated time period; and given the amendment to rule 32 on 31 May
2019 (some 10 years after
Joob
Joob
)
to provide for summary judgment after delivery of a plea as opposed
to a notice to defend, there seems to be a compelling argument
to be
made that a plaintiff should not be ousted on technicalities,
particularly where a defendant fails to raise a triable issue
in a
plea, provided that the requirements of rule 27 are met.
[3]
This is consistent with the very purpose of the summary
judgment procedure, namely to avoid the delay and cost of going to
trial where a defence lacking in substance (ie, one which does not
raise a triable issue) can be disposed of at an earlier stage.
[12]
During argument I was
referred by counsel for the plaintiff to certain authorities which,
although he candidly informed me were
not directly in point, appear
to fortify my view. They deal with rule 32 after its amendment in
2019. In
Mncube
v Wesbank a Division of FirstRand Ltd
[4]
the plaintiff bank had issued summons against the defendant based on
alleged breach of an instalment sale agreement. The defendant
delivered a notice of intention to defend and thereafter a plea. The
bank did not apply for summary judgment within the prescribed
15 day
period as a result of the defendant having delivered two notices of
intention to amend his plea, both within the 15 day
period. The
amended plea was duly delivered outside of the 15 day period and the
bank applied for summary judgment within
15 days of such delivery.
The defendant brought an application to have it set aside as an
irregular step in terms of rule 30. The
court held that the
bank was entitled to have done so. As I understand the court’s
reasoning
[5]
, this was in
essence because the bank was a party affected by the amendment, and
it would have been artificial to compel it to
launch an application
for summary judgment in respect of a plea which it knew was going to
be amended.
[13]
In
King
Price Insurance Company Ltd v Integritas Risk Solutions (Pty) Ltd
[6]
the plaintiff delivered a replication and plea to the defendant’s
counterclaim after having launched its application for
summary
judgment. The defendant contended that the plaintiff, in doing so,
had ‘waived’ its right to proceed with the
summary
judgment application. The court referred to
Mncube
as well
as
Quattro
Citrus (Pty) Ltd v F & E Distributors (Pty) Ltd t/a Cape Crops
[7]
and relied on both to
find the defendant’s contention to be without merit.
[14]
In
Quattro
Citrus
the
court reasoned that the silence on the issue in the recommendations
of the Superior Courts Task Team of the Rules Board for
Courts of Law
‘leaves the door open to the plaintiff to file a replication
without waiving its rights to apply for summary
judgment, as long as
it files [both] timeously and in accordance with the rules of court
…[a]ccordingly, the filing of a
replication will in no way
compromise “ the speediness of the remedy” afforded by
rule 32, which was the issue for
consideration by the Task Team when
deliberating the timing of the application. In my opinion [counsel
for the applicant] was correct
in arguing that, if the Task Team had
intended for the applicant to be compelled to pick a course of
action, a provision would
have been incorporated dealing with the
issue’.
[8]
Quatro
Citrus,
a
decision in this Division, was carefully considered and followed by
another court in this Division, namely in
Ingenuity
Property Investments (Pty) Ltd v Ignite Fitness (Pty) Ltd
[9]
,
which
in turn was cited with approval and followed in
Reef
Caterers (Pty) Ltd v Vaal Christian School.
[10]
[15]
There is a decision I
have found which takes the opposite view, namely
Arum
Transport CC v Mkhwenkwe Construction CC and Another
[11]
,
and which was considered but not followed in
Ingenuity
Property.
In
Arum
Transport
the
court relied on a number of authorities, all of which pre-date the
amended rule 32, as well on what was stated at the time in
Civil
Procedure in the Superior Courts
[12]
and
Erasmus
Superior Courts Practice
[13]
in relation to the amended rule. In the first reference the court
cites the author (relying in turn on a pre-amendment decision)
as
expressing the view that ‘if a plaintiff takes a further
procedural step after delivery of a notice of intention to defend
he
may thereby waive his right to apply for summary judgment’. In
the second reference, the court cites the author
as expressing a more
definitive view, namely that ‘if the plaintiff takes a further
procedural step after the delivery of
a plea, i.e. an exception or a
replication …he thereby waives his right to apply for summary
judgment’. I have not
been able to locate the service editions
of these to ascertain which other authorities were referred to in
support of these opinions.
However,
Erasmus
now
holds a different view.
[16]
In the latest service
edition
[14]
this view is
expressed as follows: ‘[i]t is submitted that under rule 32 in
its amended form, and contrary to what was decided
in the
Arum
case, a plaintiff is
entitled to deliver a replication before the delivery of an
application for summary judgment (provided both
are delivered within
the time periods stipulated in the rules) and does not thereby waive
its right to apply for summary judgment…’
although the
author considers the position where a plaintiff delivers an exception
to a plea (not a counterclaim as in the matter
before me) as being
more complicated, and suggests that a plaintiff should, if necessary,
timeously seek an extension for delivery
of an application for
summary judgment, or a postponement of such an application if already
brought, pending determination of the
exception.
[17]
To my mind, and by parity of reasoning, what was held in
Citrus
Quatro
and
Ingenuity Property
, by which I am bound unless
convinced they are wrong (which in my view they are not), should
apply in the instant matter. It is
accordingly my finding that the
plaintiffs were entitled to apply for summary judgment within 15
court days after the defendant
withdrew his counterclaim, but even if
I am wrong, good cause nonetheless exists for granting condonation as
sought by the plaintiffs
in the alternative. It follows that
the application for summary judgment is properly before the court.
[18]
There is another procedural aspect which I deal with briefly. On 18
July 2025 the defendant
delivered a further affidavit opposing
summary judgment. After the plaintiffs objected in writing the
defendant requested the withdrawal
of that affidavit in an email
dated 30 July 2025. His request was granted at the commencement of
argument, and I will accordingly
have no regard to it.
Defences
raised
[19]
The defendant raised 4 defences, which may be categorised as: (1) the
unliquidated amount
in money defence; (2) the Covid-19 defence; (3)
the renegotiated rental/fraudulent misrepresentation defence; and (4)
the ambiguity
in deed of suretyship defence.
Unliquidated
amount in money defence
[20]
The defendant in his plea
and opposing affidavit alleged that POC 2 included legal fees charged
by the plaintiff in respect of which
a court had not yet pronounced
upon and which had not been taxed. A similar contention was
successfully raised in
Theron
[15]
.
However,
in the instant case it became common cause during argument that in
POC 2 the plaintiffs had deducted the full amount of
legal fees from
their calculation of the total amount owed. The defendant further
confirmed that he only took issue with his indebtedness
to the
plaintiffs on the grounds of the other defences raised, and that the
auxiliary charges reflected in POC2 were not in issue.
In
addition, on the defendant’s own recalculation in annexure K3
to his plea, he used the same amounts charged by the
plaintiffs in
respect of rental up to and including April 2022 and auxiliary
charges levied by the plaintiffs for the entire period
of Thumbnail’s
occupation. It is thus clear that what the plaintiffs claim is
a liquidated amount in money as provided
in rule 32(1)(b).
Covid-19
defence
[21]
It is the defendant’s stance that due to the Covid-19
regulations which prevailed
from 26 March 2020 until 4 April 2022,
and depending on the applicable alert level, Thumbnail was either not
entitled to use the
leased premises to trade, or its capacity to
trade was effectively limited to only 50% due to size and social
distancing
requirements. This, the defendant submits, entitled
Thumbnail to a proportionate remittal in rental, not only for the
period
April to August 2020 but also for the period September 2020 to
4 April 2022. The defendant also submitted in argument that
had
Thumbnail not complied with the regulations it would have traded
unlawfully and therein lay the impossibility (or partial
impossibility) of performance.
[22]
The defendant relied on
Aludar
233 CC v Unlocked Properties 28 (Pty) Ltd
(‘
Aludar
’
)
[16]
where the parties had entered into a lease for the appellant to
operate a nightclub and for that purpose only. After the
implementation
of the hard lockdown in March 2020, the appellant took
the view that the lease had been terminated by supervening
impossibility
of performance. It stopped paying rental in March 2020
and vacated the leased premises at a point thereafter. Its stance was
that
it would be contrary to public policy to hold it to the terms of
the lease where it had unforeseeably become impossible to use the
premises as both parties had agreed it must be used. The respondent
maintained that notwithstanding this impossibility, the appellant
remained liable for rental. In contradistinction to the facts
before me, the lease excluded any claim by the appellant arising
from
vis
major
or
casus
fortuitus
.
[23]
The court held that:
‘
7. …I do
not think that [ the exclusion clause] completely answers the claim
that the whole contract was voided because it
could no longer be
performed by either party. The effect of the regulations was not just
that Aludar could not operate a nightclub.
It was that Unlocked
Properties could not rent the property for that purpose. Given that
this was the only purpose for which the
parties agreed the property
could be used, the effect of the regulations may well have been to
void the whole contract. If that
is so, the exclusion clause upon
which Unlocked Properties relied was voided too….
9. Mr Paige-Green, who
appeared for Unlocked Properties, referred us to the decision of the
Supreme Court of Appeal in
Butcher Shop and Grill CC v Trustees
for the time being of Bymyam Trust
2023 (5) SA 68
(SCA)
but
I do not think that decision helps us. The main issue before the
court in that case was whether a remission of rent could be
claimed
by a tenant where their sub-tenant had suffered loss because they
could not run a restaurant during the period for which
the
regulations applied. The situation in this case is different …’
[24]
The defence before me is
not that the agreement was voided due to supervening impossibility of
performance, and
Aludar
is thus
distinguishable. However, in
Butcher
Shop
the
issue before the Supreme Court of Appeal which is relevant for
present purposes (there were others) was whether the lease agreement
excluded a claim for remission of rental in circumstances similar to
the matter before me (a restaurant was also conducted from
the leased
premises). After scrutinising the lease, the court held that its
terms did not preclude a claim for remission of rent
in terms of the
common law.
[17]
[25]
I have already referred to clause 25 of the general conditions of the
lease between the
parties before me. That clause specifically
regulates what must happen in the event that
either party
is
prevented or hindered from performing in terms of the lease due to
force majeure.
Although the clause stipulates that the
plaintiffs will not be responsible for such prevention or hinderance
‘the doing or
performance of such act or thing shall be excused
for the period of the delay, and the period for the performance of
any such act
or thing shall be extended for a period equivalent to
the period of such delay’. This clause must be read together
with clause
11 of the general conditions which imposed an obligation
on Thumbnail to trade in and keep the restaurant operated by it
continuously
open to the public during the business hours determined
by the plaintiffs as being beneficial to the shopping centre, but
that
the obligation was suspended in circumstances beyond
Thumbnail’s control that ‘render it unreasonable
for
the tenant to trade from the leased premises’. It
was presumably with this in mind that the plaintiffs afforded
Thumbnail
the rental relief it did during the period March to August
2020.
[26]
In their particulars of claim the plaintiffs specifically pleaded
clause 25 of the general
conditions but made no attempt to calculate
their claim based on that same clause. The only deductions made in
POC 2 were in respect
of the rental relief which the plaintiffs
unilaterally decided to afford Thumbnail. Similarly in the
affidavit filed in support
of the summary judgment application, and
despite the contents of the defendant’s plea on this score, no
attempt was made
to squarely engage the issue, save to contend that
the rental relief was provided despite there having been no
obligation on the
plaintiffs to do so, and that for all alert levels
subsequent to August 2020 ‘other than alert levels 5 and 4,
Thumbnail
was provided with the use and enjoyment of the leased
premises by the Plaintiffs. The hard lockdown did not persist after
30 April
2020 as restrictions imposed by the regulations were
progressively eased. Thumbnail was entitled and did occupy the leased
premises
after the hard lockdown period…[i]t will be argued
…that the period subsequent to the hard lockdown did not give
rise to a supervening impossibility of performance…’. To
my mind this overlooks the specific reference to ‘hinderance’
in clause 25 which is a separate qualification for relief to that of
‘prevention’.
[27]
It is perhaps as a result
of this stance that in argument the plaintiff placed reliance on
Freestone
Property Investment (Pty) Ltd v Remake Consultants CC and Another
[18]
where it was held
that:
‘
23. I do not
suggest that a lessee’s commercial inability or diminished
commercial inability to pay rentals because of an
inability to trade
during the “hard lockdown” may excuse the lessee from
making payment. Our law is settled that a
vis
major
or
casus
fortuitus
that
makes it uneconomical or no longer commercially attractive for a
party to carry out its payment obligations cannot constitute
a basis
to be excused from performance
[19]
…’
[28]
It is of course not necessary for me to make a definitive
determination for purposes of
this summary judgment application
whether Thumbnail was entitled to a remission or partial remittal in
rental as the defendant
contends. I only have to be persuaded that
this defence raises a triable issue. Having considered the parties’
respective
submissions as well as the aforementioned authorities, I
have concluded that, in respect of this defence, the defendant has
met
the required threshold.
Renegotiated
rental/fraudulent misrepresentation defence
[29]
The defendant maintains that Thumbnail was induced to remain in
occupation of the leased
premises after the lease expired in April
2022, based on representations by the plaintiffs’ agents that
‘a lease renewal
was forthcoming’ at an agreed market
related rental of R92 000 per month plus VAT. However, the very
email from the
plaintiffs’ leasing manager relied upon by the
defendant in support of this defence (which he also confirmed in
argument),
annexed to his opposing affidavit and dated 24 March 2022,
does not bear this out. It reads in relevant part as follows:
‘
We had another
session with the co-owners …and again discussed the proposal
you previously put forward.
The feedback is still
that they are not prepared to reduce the rental to the level
suggested below [ referring to the proposal made
by the defendant in
this regard] , as the rental is far below the premises’ market
value They will however consider an all-in
rental (only excl. metered
water and electricity) of R 92 000 (excl. VAT) …
In terms of arrears, the
Landlord is not able to write off all arrears… [p]lease
propose a suitable payment arrangement or
a revised proposal….’
[30]
The defendant accepted during argument that the aforementioned email
contains nothing more
than a proposal. On a proper reading thereof
that proposal, as submitted by counsel for the plaintiffs, was a
composite one which
included a suitable arrangement in respect of the
arrears. That did not eventuate and moreover the plaintiffs
proceeded to
generate invoices to Thumbnail in accordance with clause
2.3 of the general conditions, which these parties had agreed would
apply
in the event of Thumbnail remaining in occupation
on expiry of the lease, on a monthly tenancy basis. But in any
event, when regard is had to annexure POC 2, the payments made by
Thumbnail thereafter were not in accordance with the ‘agreement’
upon which the defendant relies. There is furthermore nothing
on the papers to indicate that the plaintiffs’ agents
fraudulently misrepresented anything to Thumbnail, and there was no
suggestion by the defendant that the non-variation requirements
contained in clause 23 of the general conditions were met. The
defendant has thus failed to raise a triable issue in respect of
this
defence.
Ambiguity
in deed of suretyship defence
[31]
The deed of suretyship states in express terms that it constitutes ‘a
continuing
covering security without any limitation until such time
as all the obligations of the Tenant to the Landlord in terms of the
Lease
(or any renewal, amendment, breach or cancellation thereof)
have been duly and properly fulfilled’. The defendant contends
that because earlier in the deed of suretyship he is recorded as
having bound himself for the obligations of Thumbnail ‘arising
from or out of or in terms of a Lease ...between the Landlord and
Tenant commencing on 1 May 2017 for the period of 5 YEARS’,
it
is ambiguous and must be interpreted narrowly to mean that his
obligations as surety are restricted to the initial 5 year period.
[32]
In my view the interpretation advanced by the defendant is strained
and incorrect
when regard is had to clause 2.3 of the general
conditions, which makes clear that in the event of Thumbnail
remaining in occupation
of the premises after expiry of the fixed
period of 5 years, the annual percentage increases in rental and
auxiliary costs will
change but such occupation shall be ‘
subject in all other respects to the terms and conditions’ of
the agreement.
One of these conditions is contained in clause 30 of
the general conditions, which required the defendant to execute the
deed of
suretyship in which he remains liable for any amounts owed by
Thumbnail, including those following upon expiry of the fixed period.
I am accordingly of the view that the defendant has failed to
raise a triable issue in respect of this defence as well.
Costs
[33]
Of the four defences raised, only one raises a triable issue, but it
took up most of the
time in argument and is clearly important to the
parties. Rather than burden the trial court with having to determine
the costs
of this application it seems to me that in all the
circumstances the appropriate costs order to make is the one that
follows.
[34]
The following order is made:
1.
The application for summary judgment is refused;
2.
The defendant is granted leave to defend; and
3.
Each party will pay their own costs incurred in this application.
J I CLOETE
Judge of the High Court
Appearances:
Counsel
for Applicant / Plaintiff Adv Jean Bence
Instructed
by
PPM Attorneys (P McEnery)
Respondent
/ Defendant:
Appeared In person
[1]
[2024] ZAWCHC 249
(6 September 2024) at paras 15 to 24
[2]
2009 (5) SA 1 (SCA)
[3]
In Erasmus: Superior Court Practice 2
nd
ed at Vol 2, D1 Rule
32-6 (Service 26 of 2025) it is stated, with reference to a long
line of authorities at fn 3, that ‘while
courts have often
emphasised the need for strict compliance with the rule …this
does not mean that technical defects in
procedure will not be
condoned’.
[4]
[2023] ZAGPJHC 895 (10 August 2023)
[5]
Referring to the authorities cited at paras 24 t0 32
[6]
[2024] ZAGPPHC 274 (25 March 2024)
[7]
[2021] JOL 49833 (WCC)
[8]
At paras 8 -9.
[9]
2023 (5) SA 439 (WCC)
[10]
Unreported FB case no 1645/2024 dated 7 November 2024 at para 9
[11]
2022 (2) SA 503 (KZP).
[12]
D Harms SC (August 2020), Service issue 71) para B32.5
[13]
Service issue RS15, 2020 at D1-387 to D1-388
[14]
Service 26, 2025 at D1 Rule 32-21 to 22
[15]
At paras 26 to 30
[16]
[2023] ZAGPJHC 1297 (14 November 2023)
[17]
At para 9 and 13 to 28.
[18]
2021 (6) SA 470 (GJ)
[19]
Referring to Unibank Savings and Loans Ltd (formerly Community Bank)
v ABSA Bank Ltd 2000(4) SA 191 (W) at 198D/E, applying Macduff
&
Co Ltd (in liquidation) v Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Co
Ltd 19
24 AD 573
at 606-607. See also Lilfam Holdings (Pty) Ltd v
Mike and Ian Consulting (Pty) Ltd and Another [ 2024] ZAGPJHC 108 (8
February
2024) and Hennops Sport (Pty) Ltd v Luhan Auto (Pty) Ltd [
2022] ZAGPPHC] (2 December 2022)
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