Case Law[2024] ZAWCHC 89South Africa
South African Securitisation Programme (RF) Ltd and Others v 7 SIRS Group (Pty) Ltd and Others (9525/2022) [2024] ZAWCHC 89 (20 March 2024)
Headnotes
judgment against the third defendant only. It is common cause that the first defendant, which I refer to as “the company”, was placed under business rescue in October 2023 and there is no argument that the application resultantly was to be postponed sine die in the circumstances, pending the outcome of the business rescue proceedings and having regard to chapter 6 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008.
Judgment
begin wrapper
begin container
begin header
begin slogan-floater
end slogan-floater
- About SAFLII
About SAFLII
- Databases
Databases
- Search
Search
- Terms of Use
Terms of Use
- RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds
end header
begin main
begin center
# South Africa: Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
South Africa: Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
You are here:
SAFLII
>>
Databases
>>
South Africa: Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
>>
2024
>>
[2024] ZAWCHC 89
|
Noteup
|
LawCite
sino index
## South African Securitisation Programme (RF) Ltd and Others v 7 SIRS Group (Pty) Ltd and Others (9525/2022) [2024] ZAWCHC 89 (20 March 2024)
South African Securitisation Programme (RF) Ltd and Others v 7 SIRS Group (Pty) Ltd and Others (9525/2022) [2024] ZAWCHC 89 (20 March 2024)
Download original files
PDF format
RTF format
make_database: source=/home/saflii//raw/ZAWCHC/Data/2024_89.html
sino date 20 March 2024
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(WESTERN
CAPE DIVISION, CAPE TOWN)
Case
number: 9525/2022
In
the matter between:
SOUTH
AFRICAN SECURITISATION
PROGRAMME
(RF) LTD
First Plaintiff
SASFIN
BANK LTD
Second Plaintiff
SUNLYN
(PTY) LTD
Third Plaintiff
And
7
SIRS GROUP (PTY) LTD
First Defendant
ABDUL
KHALEED BADEROEN
Second Defendant
RUDOWAAN
BADEROEN
Third Defendant
Dates
of Hearing
:
22 November 2023, 15 and 28 February 2024
Date
of Judgment
:
20 March 2024
JUDGMENT
DELIVERED ELECTRONICALLY
PANGARKER
AJ
The
provisional sequestration of the second defendant
1. The
judgment is in respect of an application for summary judgment against
the third defendant
only. It is common cause that the first
defendant, which I refer to as “
the company”
, was
placed under business rescue in October 2023 and there is no argument
that the application resultantly was to be postponed
sine die
in the circumstances, pending the outcome of the business rescue
proceedings and having regard to chapter 6 of the
Companies Act 71 of
2008
.
2. On
15 February 2024, at the commencement of the virtual hearing of the
application, the defendants’
attorney informed the Court and
the plaintiffs’ counsel that the second defendant was
provisionally sequestrated and that
the return date for confirmation
of the provisional order was in June 2024. Counsel advised that she
and her attorney were only
informed of this change of status on the
morning of the hearing and had no prior knowledge of such event. A
slight debate then
ensued as to whether the application could proceed
against the second defendant or not.
3. Eventually,
given the fact that the plaintiffs’ legal representatives were
taken by
surprise, as well as the difference of opinion on the issue,
the application was postponed to 28 February 2024. In the interim
period, the legal representatives made brief submissions on the
question as to whether the application could proceed against the
second defendant in circumstances where he was provisionally
sequestrated.
4. The
submissions on the abovementioned aspect were duly received on 22
February 2024. The second
defendant relied on
section 20
(1) (b) of
the
Insolvency Act 24 of 1936
which states that:
20
Effect of sequestration on insolvent’s property
(1)
The effect of the sequestration of the estate of an insolvent shall
be –
(a)
…
(b)
to stay, until the appointment of a trustee, any civil proceedings
instituted
by
or against the insolvent save such proceedings as may, in terms
of
section
twenty-three, be instituted by the insolvent for his own benefit or
be
instituted against the insolvent: …
5. The
second defendant also relied on the definition of
"sequestration
order"
in
section 2
of the Act, which clearly includes a
provisional sequestration order. Having considered the submissions,
it came to light that
the point taken by the second defendant, that
the summary judgment should be stayed against him, was in fact
conceded by the plaintiffs.
In other words, it was accepted that once
a provisional order was granted against the second
defendant, his estate
was sequestrated as described in
section 21
(1)
read with
section 20(1)
(b) of the
Insolvency Act. All
things
considered, I held the view that the second defendant’s
submissions were indeed correct.
6. Accordingly,
when the matter resumed on 28 February instant, I ordered that in
terms of
section 20
(1)(b) of the aforementioned Act, the proceedings
in the matter were stayed and postponed
sine die
against the
second defendant. The remaining issue of costs of the previous
postponement is addressed at the conclusion of this
judgment. It
follows thus that the summary judgment only proceeded against the
third defendant. For convenience sake I continue
to refer to the
parties as cited in the main action.
The
Particulars of Claim
7. In
June 2022, the three plaintiffs caused a Summons to be issued out of
this Court against
all three defendants. The action has its genesis
in a master rental agreement concluded between the first defendant
(the company)
and Corprint CC (Corprint) concluded during April-May
2021. The agreement is attached as annexure
A
to the
Particulars of Claim. In terms of such particulars, the company
rented certain equipment for a period of 60 months.
8. Furthermore,
the second and third defendants bound themselves as guarantors and
co-principal
debtors with the company for the fulfilment by the
latter of its obligations in terms of the master rental agreement.
The monthly
rental installment was R15 634, 25 which was subject to
an annual escalation of 15%. In terms of the acceptance certificate
forming
part of
A
, signed by the second defendant on behalf of
the company, the latter acknowledged that the goods described in the
master rental
agreement were delivered and installed. It is thus
pleaded that the first, alternatively second, alternatively third
plaintiff,
complied with the terms of the agreement.
9. The
plaintiffs’ case is that the company breached its obligations
materially by failing
to effect payment of the monthly installments,
with the result that it ran into arrears totaling R135 089, 77 as at
9 May 2022.
In support hereof, the plaintiffs attach the accelerated
claims statement,
C
, which reflect arrear and future rentals
and the total outstanding amount due of R1 192 979, 930. It is
further pleaded that in
the event of a breach, the plaintiffs are
entitled to claim immediate payment of all amounts which would have
been payable until
expiry of the initial rental period, whether the
amounts were due or not.
10. Paragraph
13 of the Particulars of Claim contains the usual clause that a
certificate
of balance,
D
, signed by a manager of the
first plaintiff in respect of the company’s indebtedness
suffices as
prima facie
proof of such indebtedness. Judgment
in the action is thus sought jointly and severally against the
defendants, in the sum of R1
192 979, 93 plus interest and costs on
an attorney and client scale.
11. The
relationship and
locus standi
of the plaintiffs as pleaded, is
summarized as follows:
11.1 Corprint
CC and Sunlyn Rentals Pty Ltd concluded a main cession agreement in
November 2009,
B1.
The latter changed its name in October 2012
to Sunlyn Pty Ltd (Sunlyn). In terms of the above mentioned
agreement, Corprint, the
cedent, could offer contracts for cession to
Sunlyn and acceptance of the offer was by virtue of payment of the
purchase price
less permitted deductions.
11.2 On
7 May 2021, Sunlyn accepted Corprint’s offer by effecting
payment of the purchase
price to Corprint
[1]
.
On 29 March 2006, Sunlyn and Sasfin Bank Ltd (Sasfin), concluded a
main cession and an addendum to the cession
[2]
.
Sunlyn would offer contracts for sale and cession to Sasfin, from
time to time for a purchase price. The terms of the agreement
are
pleaded at paragraph 7.5 of the Particulars of Claim. On 17 May 2021,
Sunlyn communicated the offer to Sasfin, which duly accepted
the
offer by effecting payment for and on behalf of Sunlyn to the
supplier
[3]
.
11.3 Subsequently,
on 17 June 2021, the first plaintiff and Sasfin entered into a sale
and transfer
agreement
[4]
in
terms of which Sasfin sold to the first plaintiff all its right,
title and interest in and to assets specified in the agreement.
Sasfin provided the first plaintiff with a schedule of these assets
which it wished to sell to it. The first plaintiff thereafter
effected payment of a purchase amount in respect the master rental
agreement and in terms of which all right, title and interest
in and
to such agreement passed to the first plaintiff.
11.4 The
plaintiffs rely on the Guarantee as contained in the master rental
agreement for the
indebtedness of the second and third defendants.
Further reliance is placed on the certificate of balance
[5]
signed by a manager of the first plaintiff in respect of the
company’s indebtedness in terms of the agreement. It is pleaded
that the certificate is
prima
facie
proof
of the company’s indebtedness.
The
joint Plea
12. It
is appropriate to set out the Plea with some degree of particularity.
In their joint
Plea, the defendants admit paragraphs 1 to 9 of
the Particulars of Claim. They admit the identities of the parties as
described
in the Summons and the conclusion of the master rental
agreement. Furthermore, the defendants admit the conclusion of the
main
cession agreement between Corprint and Sunlyn, but deny that
Sunlyn accepted Corprint’s offer. In addition, the defendants
admit some of the terms of the cession in respect of the cedent’s
role in relation to how the offer and acceptance would
occur. The
defendants plead that they have no knowledge of whether Sunlyn made
an offer to Sasfin yet deny that Sasfin accepted
the offer and made
payment on behalf of Sunlyn.
13. The
defendants admit the conclusion of the sale and transfer agreement
between Sasfin and
the first plaintiff and furthermore, admit its
terms. The defendants bear no knowledge of whether the first
plaintiff paid Sasfin
in respect of the series 3 participating asset
purchase amount related to the master rental agreement. Furthermore,
the defendants
deny that all right, title and interest in and to the
mater rental agreement passed to the first plaintiff.
14. In
respect of the master rental agreement, the defendants admit that the
company
undertook to pay the rental as specified in the
agreement. They reiterate their denial that the plaintiffs acquired
any rights
in the master rental agreement nor had any obligations
which they were required to comply with. Significantly, the
defendants admit
that the company received the goods described in the
schedule to the master rental agreement and that they were installed
as per
the agreement. The defendants also admit the certificate of
acceptance which forms part of the master rental agreement.
15. Insofar
as the accelerated claims statement
[6]
is concerned, the defendants’ stance is that it is not a
certificate as envisaged by clause 11 of the master rental agreement,
yet they admit that the company failed to pay the monthly
installments and was in arrears with the sum of R135 089, 77 as at 9
May 2022. The material breach by the company of its obligations in
terms of the agreement, is not denied. The defendants furthermore
admit or agree that in the event of default in punctual payment of
monies due in terms of the agreement, immediate payment of all
monies
due could be claimed, but it is denied that in the case of default,
the plaintiffs were entitled to claim immediate payment
as alleged.
16. The
defendants admit that the certificate of balance is what it purports
to be. However,
they deny that the company is indebted to the first,
alternatively, the second plaintiff. They also agree that the company
undertook
to pay all costs on an attorney and client scale, and admit
the second and third defendants’ obligations as guarantors and
co-principal debtors to the company in terms of the Guarantee.
The
summary judgment application
17. The
application was delivered on 30 August 2022. Mr. Govender, who is
Sasfin’s litigation
manager, was authorized to represent the
first plaintiff in the proceedings and deposed to an affidavit in
support of the application.
He sets out his personal knowledge of the
material facts relied upon in the action and confirms the cause of
action against the
defendants, as well as their indebtedness to the
first plaintiff in the amount plus interest and costs as claimed in
the Summons.
Insofar as the
bona fide
defenses and triable
issues are concerned, the deponent states that the joint Plea
contains none of these, and sets forth to explain
why this is so.
18. In
respect of the
locus standi
defense, the first plaintiff
relies on clause 10 of the master rental agreement in terms of which
Corprint was entitled to transfer
its rights in and to the agreement
to third parties without notice to the company. Mr Govender
emphasizes that the defendants were
not parties to the cession and
transfer of rights agreements pursuant to which the rights in and to
the master rental agreement
were transferred to the first
plaintiff. It is further contended that the joint Plea amounts to a
bare denial of the
first plaintiff's
locus standi
and that no
facts are advanced to counter the averments that the first plaintiff
acquired the rights in and to the master rental
agreement and is the
original cessionary of the rights thereto.
19. In
respect of the defense related to the certificate of balance, Mr
Govender contends that
clause 10.1 of the master rental agreement
must be read with clause 11 thereof. Thus, the certificate of balance
could, in those
circumstances, be signed by a manager of a cessionary
and Sasfin’s senior litigation manager was the appropriate
person to
have signed such certificate on behalf of the first
plaintiff. Mr Govender also raises the point that the defendants do
not explain
in their Plea why the certificate of balance is not
valid.
20. The
opposing affidavit, deposed to by the second defendant, is confirmed
by the third defendant.
The defendants deny that Corprint’s
rights under the master rental agreement were ceded to Sunlyn, then
from Sunlyn to Sasfin,
and from Sasfin to the first plaintiff.
According to the defendants, the cession agreements make no economic
sense, because either
Corprint never paid the purchase price for the
asset, or it paid the supplier, which was paid twice for the same
asset
[7]
. The contention is that
questions arise over the averments in the Particulars of Claim
regarding the cession agreements and transfer
of rights. The
defendants are of the opinion that neither Sunlyn nor Sasfin made the
alleged payments as per the pleaded agreements
but set out no reasons
why such averment is made.
21. The
second defendant also takes issue with the certificate of balance in
that it would have
been expected the certificate to be signed by the
first plaintiff’s manager and not a manger of Sasfin. In light
thereof,
the submission is that the certificate of balance is not one
contemplated in clause 11.
The
locus standi
defence
22. The
defendants’ attorney submitted that the opposing affidavit
addresses the
locus standi
defence in detail and that the
plaintiffs do not address this in their heads of argument. On the
contrary, this is not so. The
plaintiffs’ argument is that the
defendants are not at liberty to object to, nor interfere with, the
cession and sale and
transfer agreements concluded between the
plaintiffs because only a party/parties to such agreements may do so.
The plaintiffs’
criticism is that the Plea amounts to a bare
denial and that the facts upon which the defendants (in this
instance, the third defendant)
rely on for their defence are not set
out in any great detail in the Plea.
23. The
plaintiffs rely on
Letseng
Diamonds Ltd v JCI Ltd and Others
[8]
and
Sasfin
Bank Limited, Sunlyn (Pty) Ltd v Fitness Holdings Ltd
[9]
in
support of the view that the defendants, who were not parties to the
cession and sale and transfer agreements between the plaintiffs,
cannot object to those agreements. The defendants similarly refer to
these authorities but also rely on
Trinity
Asset Management (Pty) Ltd v Investec Bank
[10]
in
support of their opposition to the application. In view of the first
defence raised, I then proceed to consider the objection
to the
plaintiffs’
locus
standi
in the discussion which follows.
24. The
concept of cession was defined in
Johnson
v Incorporated General Insurance Ltd
[11]
as:
“
an
act of transfer (‘oordragshandeling”) to enable the
transfer of a right to claim (translatio juris) to take place”
[12]
.
Thus,
a contractual right is transferred by agreement from the cedent
[13]
to the cessionary
[14]
in terms
of which the cedent has the intention to transfer, and the
corresponding right to acquire, exists with the cessionary
[15]
.
A distinction must be drawn between the cession agreement, as
referred to above, and the underlying
justa
causa
for the cession, which in this case, is the master rental agreement.
25. In
Corporate
Finance (Pty) Ltd v Schwarz North
[16]
,
Victor J stated the following at paragraph 21 of the judgment:
“
The
cession therefore embraces the contractual right to sue. It is common
cause that a cession, to be effective, does not require
the prior
consent, knowledge, concurrence or cooperation of the debtor. The
debtor has no right of refusal/veto or to intervene
in the cession
agreement unless there is prejudice. It is effective irrespective of
the debtor’s attitude as the debtor is
not actively engaged in
the process.”
26. Bearing
the above
dicta
in
mind and turning to the defence raised, the question then arises
whether a third party, such as the defendants in this instance,
may
challenge the cession and sale and transfer agreements when they were
not parties to the agreements? In lieu of
the arguments
presented during the hearing, I refer to the Court
a
quo’s
finding in
Letseng
Diamonds Ltd v JCI Limited and Others
[17]
that
a third party is not entitled to interfere in an agreement concluded
between two other parties. Blieden J held that a shareholder
had no
locus
standi
to challenge a suite of agreements between the company and a third
party. The general rule that only the contracting parties to
a
contract may challenge the invalidity of the agreement where there
was non-compliance with its terms, was confirmed by Jaftha
J in the
minority appeal judgment in
Letseng
Diamonds
[18]
.
27. However,
in the majority decision, which was reported as
Trinity
Asset Management (Pty) Ltd v Investec Bank
[19]
,
the Supreme Court of Appeal found that the Court
a
quo
was
incorrect to hold that the shareholders could not challenge the
validity of the agreements in question and in so doing, question
the
locus
standi
of
the company and third party. The finding by the majority is based on
the facts of the particular case and the validity or invalidity
of
the particular loan agreement was a material factor which the
shareholders (in the circumstances prevailing) were entitled to
have
knowledge of before voting.
28. The
defendants in this matter rely on the
Trinity Asset Management
judgment in support of the defence that they are entitled to
challenge the cession and sale and transfer agreements because, as
submitted in argument, they have established a substantial legal
interest in the contract or its consequences. The argument goes
that
the cessions are significant to the defendants as they are faced with
a stranger (presumably the first plaintiff) making claim
under a
contract to which they, as defendants, were not party to. In summary,
the defendants thus challenge the
locus standi
of the
plaintiffs to sue.
29.
Locus
standi
envisages a requirement of the plaintiffs to have an adequate
interest in the subject matter of their litigation, which must not
be
too remote, and their interest must be actual and
current
[20]
. It bears
mentioning that the cessions and sale and transfer agreements as
described and pleaded in the Particulars of Claim, are
not denied in
the Plea.
30. Considering
the submissions, I am of the view that there is an aspect to the lack
of
locus
standi
defence
which the defendants overlook. To elaborate, where a party challenges
locus
standi
,
the Court must approach the question on the assumption that all the
allegations of fact relied upon by the party whose
locus
standi
is attacked, are true
[21]
.
31. That
being the case, I must therefore assume that all facts as alleged and
pleaded in the
Particulars of Claim, in respect of the parties to the
various agreements and the
locus
standi
of the plaintiffs, are correct. Having regard to the pleading, it
follows that the facts which the plaintiffs rely on, relate to
the
conclusion of the cession agreements, the addendum thereto, the sale
and transfer agreement, the offers, acceptance, payments
and the
circumstances under which the agreements were concluded
[22]
.
32. Turning
to the Plea, it is notable that the defendants simply deny that
Sunlyn accepted Corprint’s
offer and made payment of the
purchase price, but fail to plead the basis for such denial.
Similarly, the defendants plead a bare
denial in respect of Sunlyn’s
offer related to the cession with Sasfin, and a further bare denial
of the first plaintiff’s
payment to Sasfin of the series 3
participating asset purchase amount in respect of the master rental
agreement. The defendants
then blithely deny that all right, title
and interest passed to the first plaintiff, without in any way,
pleading a basis for such
bare denial(s).
33. When
I have regard to Mr Govender’s affidavit, it is evident that he
is correct when
stating that the defendants plead no reasons for
their denial of the first plaintiff’s
locus
standi
and that it acquired the rights and title in respect of the master
rental agreement. I must add that clause 10.1 of such agreement
allows for the creditor to transfer its right, title and interest in
and to the master rental agreement and the goods referred
to therein.
Accordingly, I must agree with the submission by the plaintiffs’
counsel, and having regard to
Tumileng
Trading CC v National Security and Fire (Pty) Ltd
[23]
,
that the Plea as it stands, does not raise any triable issue.
34. To
illustrate further, on reading the Plea, it becomes apparent that in
large parts, the
agreements as pleaded by the plaintiffs are indeed
admitted. The complaint that in their view, the cessions would make
no economic
sense, only arises in the opposing affidavit and is not
substantiated. To question whether, on the plaintiffs’ version,
the
offers and acceptance between the various plaintiffs’
occurred, and to opine that the cessions did not make economic sense,
in my view, in no way raises a
bona fide
defence or a triable
issue.
35. Having
regard to the requirement that when an objection is raised to
locus
standi
, I must assume that the facts pleaded by the plaintiffs
are correct, it then follows that for purposes of this application, I
must
thus accept that the cession agreements were indeed concluded
and Sasfin concluded the sale and transfer agreement with the first
plaintiff which thereby acquired the specified series 3 participating
asset. It is furthermore apparent that the equipment leased
by the
company in terms of the master rental agreement forms part of the
participating asset, and the conclusion one reaches from
a
consideration of the Particulars of Claim is that the first plaintiff
acquired the right, title and interest in the equipment
and as such,
had the necessary
locus standi
to issue the Summons.
36. Similarly,
the roles and involvement of the other plaintiffs are clearly pleaded
and thus
assumed to be correct. Furthermore, none of the other
plaintiffs raised objection to the aforementioned agreements. More
so, nowhere
in the Plea is it stated that the defendants suffered or
will suffer prejudice hence an interference in the cession and sale
and
transfer agreements is warranted. Having regard to the above, I
am of the view that the
locus standi
defence has no merit.
Certificate
of balance defence
37. The
defendants’ view is that the certificate of balance attached to
the Particulars
of Claim should have been signed by the first
plaintiff’s manager and not the manager of Sasfin, the second
plaintiff. Mr
Voster, Sasfin’s senior litigation manager,
signed the certificate of balance
[24]
on 11 May 2022. Aside from confirming the indebtedness of the company
to the first plaintiff, the certificate also states the following:
“
I
confirm that
SASFIN,
inter alia, administers and manages rental agreements ceded to
SOUTH
AFRICAN SECURITISATION PROGRAMME (RF) LIMITED, REGISTRATION NUMBER
1991/002706/06 (“SASP”)
,
and performs all administrative functions in relation to the
enforcement of said rental agreements.
I
have the records of
SASP
relating to the transaction, that
forms the subject matter hereof, in my possession and under my
control. In the premises, the
facts set out herein under are within
my own personal knowledge and I am duly authorized to certify the
indebtedness of the user
on behalf of
SASP.”
38. Clause
10.1 of the master rental agreement provides that the reference to
“
hirer”
in the agreement is deemed to include a reference to the cessionaries
or their delegates. Clause 11 provides that a certificate
of balance
signed by any manager of the hirer as to any amount due by the user
shall be prima facie proof of “…
the
matters therein stated for all purposes”
[25]
.
I
emphasise that the defendants admit in the Plea that the certificate
of balance is what it purports to be, and thus with reference
to
paragraph 13 of the Particulars of Claim read with clause 11 of the
certificate, they admit that the certificate is proof of
the
company’s indebtedness to the first plaintiff.
39. Having
regard to the submissions and what is set out above, neither the
liability to the
first plaintiff nor the correctness of the content
of the certificate is disputed. In my view, the certificate speaks
for itself
and tellingly makes reference to the cession from Sasfin
to the first plaintiff. A similar technical defence, involving Sasfin
and a certificate of balance, was raised in
South
African Securitisation Programme (RF) Ltd and Others v Cellsecure
Monitoring and Response (Pty) Ltd
[26]
.
In
this matter, the respondents in the summary judgment application
raised a defence that the certificate of balance was to be signed
by
the hirer and not a cessionary. The Court in
Cellsecure
dismissed
the defence regarding the certificate of balance, after having regard
to the relevant agreement and the content of the
certificate, thus
holding that the defence was not
bona
fide
.
40. In
this matter, as in
Cellsecure,
the parties had agreed
to the terms of the master rental agreement, and at the risk of
stating the obvious, had agreed to clauses
10 and 11 thereof, which
allow for the signature of the certificate by a manager of a
cessionary such as Sasfin. On the one hand,
the Plea admits that the
certificate is what it purports to be but on the other hand, the
remainder of paragraph 13 of the Particulars
of Claim is denied. The
Plea does not state who should have signed the certificate and thus
amounts to a bare denial. In
my view, the defendants have indeed
failed to lay the basis for a defence in the Plea related to the
certificate. This defence
must therefore fail.
Conclusion
41. A
final point is that as in
Cellsecure
,
the defences raised in the opposing affidavit are largely unrelated
to the Plea. In
NPGS
Protection and Security Services CC v Firstrand Bank Ltd
[27]
, the SCA warned against
“
bald
averments and sketchy propositions”
[28]
in
the hope of preventing the granting of summary judgment. In this
matter
,
the
Plea is replete with bald denials and do not raise triable issues.
For the reasons, set out above, are not
bona
fide
.
As the first defendant’s indebtedness and the Guarantee are
admitted, summary judgment will accordingly be granted against
the
third defendant.
Costs
of 15 February 2024
42. I
have already sketched the history of the proceedings above. In my
view, the postponement
could have been avoided had the Court and the
plaintiffs’ legal representatives been apprised of the fact
that the second
defendant was provisionally sequestrated. We were
only informed of this event when proceedings started and in
circumstances where
counsel and the Court were prepared and ready for
the summary judgment hearing. No explanation, reasonable or
otherwise, was forthcoming
for the failure or oversight to
communicate the second defendant’s changed status and
situation.
43. Costs
were ultimately incurred by the plaintiffs and whether the issue of a
costs order becomes
a concern for a trustee who is appointed in the
second defendant’s estate, I see no reason why I should not
exercise my discretion
in the abovementioned circumstances, in favour
of granting a costs order. The fact that proceedings are postponed
sine die
in relation to the summary judgment application and
the main action, does not, in my view, curtail the granting of such
order.
Order
44. In
the result, the following order is granted:
44.1 The
proceedings against the first defendant (first respondent) are
postponed
sine die
pending the outcome of business
rescue proceedings.
44.2 The
proceedings against the second defendant (second respondent) are
postponed
sine die
pending the outcome of
sequestration proceedings.
44.3 Summary
judgment is granted against the third defendant (third respondent) in
terms of prayers
1(a), (b) and (c) of the summary judgment
application (read with prayers a, b and c of the Particulars of
Claim).
44.4 The
costs occasioned by the postponement of 15 February 2024 are to be
borne by the second
defendant (second respondent) and/or his estate.
M
PANGARKER
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
CASE
NO.: 9525/2022
APPEARANCES
For
plaintiffs/applicants:
Adv K Kollapen
Instructed
by:
Wright Rose-Innes Inc.
c/o
Dingley Marshall Lewin Inc
per:
Mr N Moss
For
defendants/respondents: Mr B O’ Dowd
Instructed
by:
Brendan O’ Dowd Attorneys
per:
Mr B O’ Dowd
[1]
Clause
4.1, B1
[2]
B2
[3]
Clause
4.1, B2
[4]
B4
[5]
D
[6]
C
[7]
By
Corprint and Sasfin
[8]
[2009]
4 SA 58
[SCA]
[9]
[2022]
ZAGPJHC 1033
[10]
[2008]
ZASCA 158
[11]
1983
(1) SA 318 (A)
[12]
At
319 F-G; see also Wille’s Principles of South African Law, 9
th
edition, (Gen Editor F Du Bois), p842-843
[13]
The
creditor
[14]
The
third party. See Corporate Finance (Pty) Ltd v Schwarz North [2017]
ZAGPJHC 369 par 20-21
[15]
Hippo
Quarries (Tvl) (Pty) Ltd v Eardley
[1991] ZASCA 174
;
1992 (1) SA 867
873E-F
[16]
[2017]
ZAGPJHC 369
[17]
[2007]
ZAGPHC 119
par 19
[18]
At
paragraph 23
[19]
[2008]
ZASCA 158
– this judgment refers to the application brought by
the other shareholders and must be read with the SCA’s
majority
judgment in Letseng Diamonds Ltd v JCI Ltd and Others
supra
[20]
Four
Wheel Drive CC v Leshni Rattan NO
[2018] ZASCA 124
par 7
[21]
Kuter
v South African Pharmacy Board and Others
1953 (2) TPD 313
D-F;
Firm-O-Seal CC v Prinsloo & Van Eeden Inc and Another [2023]
ZASA 107 par 7
[22]
See
paragraph 7 of Particulars of Claim
[23]
2020
(6) SA 624
(WCC) para 21-23
[24]
D
[25]
Clause
11, A
[26]
[2022]
ZAGPPHC 925 para 48-52
[27]
2020
(1) SA 494 (SCA)
[28]
At
509F-G
sino noindex
make_database footer start
Similar Cases
South African Securitisation Programme (RF) Limited and Others v WBT Auto Wholesalers and Others (1896/2023) [2024] ZAWCHC 23 (5 February 2024)
[2024] ZAWCHC 23High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division)100% similar
South Africa Securitisation Programme (RF) Limited v T Abrahams Transport Services (Pty) Ltd and Another (381/2023) [2025] ZAWCHC 215 (22 May 2025)
[2025] ZAWCHC 215High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division)100% similar
All 4 Security Services CC and Others v City of Cape Town and Others (11496/2021) [2022] ZAWCHC 236 (18 November 2022)
[2022] ZAWCHC 236High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division)99% similar
All 4 Security Services CC and Others v The City of Cape Town and Others (11496/2021) [2022] ZAWCHC 182 (15 September 2022)
[2022] ZAWCHC 182High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division)99% similar
Nonzukiso Security Services and Another v Regional Magistrate, Cape Town and Another (13158/18) [2025] ZAWCHC 185 (30 April 2025)
[2025] ZAWCHC 185High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division)99% similar