Case Law[2024] ZASCA 96South Africa
KSL v AL (356/2023) [2024] ZASCA 96; 2024 (6) SA 410 (SCA) (13 June 2024)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
13 June 2024
Headnotes
Summary: Civil procedure – anti-dissipation interdict – whether requirements for an interim anti-dissipation interdict are satisfied – whether intention is a requirement or a lesser threshold is applicable – an interim interdict appealable in the interest of justice.
Judgment
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## KSL v AL (356/2023) [2024] ZASCA 96; 2024 (6) SA 410 (SCA) (13 June 2024)
KSL v AL (356/2023) [2024] ZASCA 96; 2024 (6) SA 410 (SCA) (13 June 2024)
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sino date 13 June 2024
SAFLII
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FLYNOTES:
CIVIL PROCEDURE – Anti-dissipation interdict –
Intention
requirement
–
Sale
of property after divorce – Onus was on ex-wife to show that
her accrual was less than that of ex-husband –
She failed to
do so – High Court not applying correct legal principle as
enunciated in
Knox
D'Arcy Ltd v Jamieson
–
Ex-wife has to show that ex-husband was dissipating his assets
with intention of defeating her claim –
Appeal upheld and
High Court order replaced with one where anti-dissipation
application is dismissed.
THE SUPREME COURT OF
APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
JUDGMENT
Reportable
Case no: 356/2023
In
the matter between:
KSL
APPELLANT
and
AL
RESPONDENT
Neutral
citation:
KSL
v AL
(Case no
356/2023)
[2024] ZASCA 96
(13 June 2024)
Coram:
ZONDI, MOKGOHLOA, and MABINDLA-BOQWANA JJA
Heard
:
27 February 2024
Delivered
:
The judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties’ representatives by email,
publication on the Supreme
Court of Appeal website and release to SAFLII. The date and time for
hand-down is deemed to be 13 June
2024 at 11h00.
Summary:
Civil
procedure – anti-dissipation interdict – whether
requirements for an interim anti-dissipation interdict are satisfied
– whether intention is a requirement or a lesser threshold is
applicable – an interim interdict appealable in the interest
of
justice.
ORDER
On
appeal from:
Gauteng Division of the
High Court, Pretoria (Van der Schyff J, sitting as court of first
instance):
1. The application to
submit further evidence is dismissed with costs.
2. The appeal is upheld
with costs, such costs limited to the costs of one counsel.
3. Paragraphs 5 and 6 of
the order of the high court are set aside and replaced with the
following:
‘
The
anti-dissipation application is dismissed with costs.’
JUDGMENT
Mokgohloa JA (Zondi
and Mabindla-Boqwana JJA concurring):
Introduction
[1]
The issues for determination in this appeal are threefold. First,
whether the respondent
succeeded in establishing the requirements of
an interim interdict in her application for an anti-dissipation
order. Second, whether
the high court applied the correct legal
principles pertaining to the order granted. Third, whether an interim
interdict order
is appealable.
The facts
[2]
The facts giving rise to this appeal are briefly
the following. The appellant, KSL (the husband) and the respondent,
AL (the wife),
were married to each other on 3 April 1992 out of
community of property with the inclusion of the accrual system as
envisaged in
Chapter 1 of the
Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984
.
They have two major children. Their marriage did not survive and, in
May 2009, the appellant instituted divorce proceedings against
the respondent. The parties attempted to reconcile but were
unsuccessful.
Ultimately, the marriage was dissolved on 14 March
2019. The divorce court granted the decree of divorce and the issue
of their
proprietary rights (the accrual) was postponed to be
determined at a later stage.
[3]
Whilst the divorce was still pending, on 19 July 2018 the appellant
founded a trust
named the L[...] Children Educational Trust and
donated an amount of R1 800 000 to the trust with the
objective of providing
financial support for the parties’
children. According to the respondent, she only learnt about this in
December 2018. During
October 2018, the appellant caused an amount of
R5 114 740.75 to be invested in a living annuity held with
Investec Assets
Management Services (Pty) Ltd.
[4]
On 12 December 2018, the appellant presented to the respondent a
‘with prejudice
tender’ in terms of rule 34 of the
Uniform Rules of Court. The appellant proposed in the tender that an
amount of R550 000
be paid by the appellant to the respondent in
full and final settlement of her accrual claim. He further proposed
that in order
for the respondent to properly consider the settlement
offer, a power of attorney be prepared by the respondent’s
attorneys
to be signed by the appellant to enable the respondent to
investigate the appellant’s financial position. If the
respondent
was not satisfied with the settlement offer, the appellant
proposed that a referee be appointed. The respondent rejected this
tender.
[5]
During May 2021, two years after the parties’ divorce, the
appellant sold his
immovable property, [...] C[...] Close, Northwold,
Extension 11, Johannesburg (the property). The respondent became
aware of the
sale in June 2021. As a result, she instituted an
anti-dissipation application in the Gauteng Division of the High
Court, Pretoria
(the high court) on 1 July 2021. In the application,
she sought an order directing the appellant’s attorneys as
conveyancers
mandated to give effect to the transfer of the property:
‘
1.
. . .to retain
the
total net proceeds of the sale of the Immovable Property being an
amount equivalent to the purchase consideration less the cost
of bond
cancellation, estate agents commission, taxes and necessary
disbursements and imposts (“the Net Proceeds”)
in an
interest-bearing trust account as envisaged by
section 86(3)
of the
Legal Practice Act 2014
, (No. 28 of 2014) pending the determination
of the [respondent’s] accrual claim in the divorce action.
2[I]n
the event that the Net Proceeds of the sale of Immovable Property
have been paid to the [appellant], or his nominee, at the
time of the
hearing of this application:-
2.1.
the [appellant’s attorneys] be directed to furnish the
[respondent], care of her attorneys, within 5 (five) days, with
a
statement of account reflecting the purchase consideration achieved
for the Immovable Property and detailing the disbursement
of expenses
including but not restricted to bond cancellation, estate agents
commission, taxes and necessary disbursements and
imposts;
2.2.
the [appellant] be directed to, within 5 (five) days, pay an amount
equivalent to the Net Proceeds
to the [appellant’s attorneys]
to be retained in an interest-bearing trust account as envisaged by
section 86(3) of the Legal
Practice Act 2014, (No. 28 of 2014)
pending the determination of the [respondent’s] accrual claim
in the divorce action.’
The
high court granted the relief sought. Thereafter the appellant
applied for leave to appeal. The high court dismissed the
application.
The appeal is with leave of this Court.
In
the high court
[6]
In her founding affidavit, the respondent averred that as at a date
of divorce, the
estate of the appellant had shown an accrual in
excess of the accrual in her estate. This, according to her, was
evident from the
tender that the appellant made to her on 12 December
2018 which ‘constitutes clear evidence of the fact that [the
appellant]
accepts that his estate had shown greater accrual to [her
estate]’. Consequently, she contended that she had a vested
interest
in the assets sought to be preserved being the net proceeds
of the sale of the appellant’s immovable property. She
contended
further that the appellant’s conduct prior to the
dissolution of the marriage relating to the money donated to the
trust
and invested in the annuity, gave her concern that the
appellant would dissipate and diminish his assets with the objective
of
frustrating her claim.
[7]
The appellant opposed the application contending that the respondent
had not made
out a case for the relief sought. First, that the trust
was created for the benefit of the parties’ children. Second,
the
funds invested in the annuity (which amounted to R5 million
at the time of the application) had not been dissipated and he
retained his right to the proceeds thereof. Third, the appellant made
a calculation in his opposing affidavit to show that his
estate had
shown a lesser accrual to that of the respondent as at the date of
divorce. He denied that he sold the property with
the intention of
dissipating his estate. He contended that he had debts to pay and had
to sell his property to settle them.
[8]
As to whether a
prima facie
right to the accrual claim had
been established, in granting the anti-dissipation relief, the high
court made the following findings:
‘
[46]
. . . The defendant [respondent] states that she has an accrual claim
against the plaintiff [appellant] because her estate
has shown no
accrual and the plaintiff’s estate has shown an accrual. She
does not substantiate this submission with any
primary facts, e.g.
referring to the assumed values of the two estates. This blank
statement needs, however, to be considered against
the context
created in the Rule 34 “with- prejudice” offer made by
the plaintiff. . .
[47]
The plaintiff’s with-prejudice tender is substantiating a view
that the defendant has succeeded in proving, albeit
prima facie
,
that the accrual of the plaintiff’s estate exceeds the accrual
of her estate.’
[9]
The court based this on these two paragraphs appearing in the rule 34
‘with
prejudice’ offer:
‘
In
full and final settlement of the accrual claim of the Defendant
against the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff tenders to the Defendant
a sum
in the amount of R550 000.00 (five hundred and fifty thousand
rand) (‘the accrual tender’)’
‘
if
the Defendant believes that the accrual tender is lower than what the
Defendant is entitled to in terms of her accrual claim
against the
Plaintiff, the defendant may refer the matter to referee for the
referee to establish the quantum of the Defendant's
accrual claim
against the Plaintiff. . . ’
[10]
On the question of whether there was a well-grounded irreparable
apprehension of harm, the court
said the following:
‘
If
the defendant succeeds in her counterclaim, and the plaintiff is
allowed to sell the house without the proceeds being kept in
trust,
it will significantly frustrate the enforcement of her claim. The
plaintiff, who had several assets at his disposal just
before the
divorce order was granted,
managed
his estate in such a way that although he still benefits, directly or
indirectly, from the value of the assets, the assets
are removed from
his direct control.
The
prejudice that will be suffered by the defendant if she is successful
in her counterclaim and the order is not granted, meets
the
requirement of a well-grounded apprehension of irreparable harm.’
(Emphasis added.)
The
court ultimately found that the balance of convenience favoured the
respondent, and she had no other remedy.
In
this Court
[11]
The appellant contended that (a) the respondent failed to establish
the
prima facie
right for the granting of an anti-dissipation
order; and (b) the high court applied the wrong legal principles in
granting the
relief sought. He also applied for leave to submit
further evidence on appeal and submitted that he would be prejudiced
if the
high court’s order was not upset on appeal. The
respondent on the other hand, submitted that the appellant’s
conduct
prior to the dissolution of the marriage relating to money
donated to the trust and invested into the annuity, reasonably
considered,
amounted to the conduct required for the anti-dissipation
interim relief.
Application
to introduce further evidence on appeal
[12]
Before I discuss the parties’ contentions on the merits, I deal
with the appellant’s
application to submit further evidence on
appeal. The evidence which the appellant seeks to introduce is that
the property was
transferred to the new owners on 3 March 2022. His
attorneys received an amount of R1 680 000 on the same day.
Various
deductions were made from this gross amount totalling
R614 258.76. He received additional money following the
cancellation
of the mortgage bond over the property which brought the
net sale of the property to R1 165 848.36. The appellant
used
part of this money to pay off his creditors and his attorneys.
As to why this evidence was not introduced during the trial, the
appellant explains that he could not submit this evidence in the high
court as his answering affidavit was delivered months before
this
evidence arose.
[13]
Section 19
(b)
of the
Superior Courts
Act 10 of 2013
, empowers this Court to receive further evidence on
appeal. The criteria as to whether evidence should be admitted are:
the need
for finality; the undesirability of permitting a litigant
who has been remiss in bringing forth evidence and to produce it late
in the day; and the need to avoid prejudice.
1
In
Rail
Commuters Action Group and Others v Transnet Ltd t/a Metrorail and
Others
,
2
the
C
onstitutional
Court, referring to
s 22
of the repealed Supreme Court Act 59 of
1959 which is similar to s 19
(b)
of the
Superior Courts
Act, cautioned
that the power to receive further evidence on appeal
should be exercised ‘sparingly’ and that such evidence
should
only be admitted in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Furthermore, in
O’Shea
NO v Van Zyl NO
and
Others
,
3
this Court held that one of the criteria for the late admission of
the new evidence is that such evidence will be practically conclusive
and final in its effect on the issue to which it is directed.
[14]
Against this background I proceed to deal with the appellant’s
application to adduce new
evidence. There is no merit in the
appellant’s application. I discern no ‘exceptional
circumstances’ to
move this Court to exercise its power, which,
it must be borne in mind, should be exercised sparingly. The
appellant’s answering
affidavit was served on 17 August 2021.
According to him, the property was transferred to the new owners on 3
March 2022. His attorneys
received the proceeds of the sale on the
same day. He received further amounts from the bank when the bond was
cancelled. He used
these funds to pay his debts and his attorneys
between March and April 2022. The application was heard on 23 August
2022 almost
four months after this new evidence came to his
knowledge. The evidence sought to be introduced should have been
presented prior
to hearing of the application in the high court or at
the very least prior to the handing down of the judgment, as the
evidence
was known and available to the appellant long before then.
There is no explanation why that was not done. In my view, the
application
to adduce further evidence on appeal must be dismissed.
Anti-dissipation
interdict
[15]
An anti-dissipation interdict may be granted where a respondent is
believed to be deliberately
arranging his affairs in such a way so as
to ensure that by the time the applicant is in a position to execute
judgment, he will
be without assets or sufficient assets on which the
applicant expects to execute. Its purpose is to preserve the asset
which is
in issue between the parties. The onus is on the applicant
for such an interdict to establish the necessary requirements for the
grant of the interdict.
Did
the respondent satisfy the requirements for an anti-dissipation
interdict?
[16]
The requirements for an interim interdict
are: (a) a
prima
facie
right,
even if it is open to some doubt; (b) injury actually committed or
reasonably apprehended; (c) the balance of convenience;
and (d) the
absence of similar protection by any other remedy.
4
In
Knox
D’Arcy Ltd and Others v Jamieson and Others
5
(
Knox
D’Arcy
)
this Court went further and held that an anti-dissipation interdict
provides a remedy where an applicant has shown on the established
basis of an interim interdict; (a) a claim against a respondent and
(b) that the respondent is [intentionally] secreting or dissipating
assets, or is likely to do so with the intention of defeating the
applicant’s claim.
6
These
jurisdictional facts to justify the granting of an anti-dissipatory
relief were re-affirmed by this Court recently in
Bassani
Mining (Pty) Ltd v Sebosat (Pty) Ltd and Others
.
7
[17]
Importantly, this Court in
Knox D’Arcy
asked and stated
the following:
‘
The
question which arises . . . is whether an applicant need show a
particular state of mind on the part of the respondent, i e,
that he
is getting rid of the funds, or is likely to do so, with the
intention of defeating the claims of creditors. Having regard
to the
purpose of this type of interdict the answer must be, I consider,
yes,
except
possibly in exceptional cases
.
As I have said, the effect of the interdict is to prevent the
respondent from freely dealing with his own property to which the
applicant lays no claim. Justice may require this restriction in
cases where the respondent is shown to be acting
mala
fide
with
the intent of preventing execution in respect of the applicant’s
claim. However, there would not normally be any justification
to
compel a respondent to regulate his bona fide expenditure so as to
retain funds in his patrimony for the payment of claims (particularly
disputed ones) against him. I am not, of course, at the moment
dealing with special situations which might arise, for instance,
by
contract or under the law of insolvency.’
8
(Emphasis added.)
[18]
Against these principles, the first question to determine is whether
a
prima facie
right to an accrual claim has been established
in this case. The high court found that the respondent did not
substantiate the
averment in the founding affidavit that she has an
accrual claim against the appellant by putting any evidence. Despite
that finding,
the high court found that the appellant’s ‘tender
is substantiating a view that the defendant has succeeded in proving,
albeit
prima facie
, that the accrual of the plaintiff’s
estate exceeds the accrual of her estate’.
[19]
This finding cannot be correct because a tender in terms of
rule 34
whether with or without prejudice, is an offer to settle and does not
amount to an acknowledgment of liability.
9
Often offers to settle are made to avoid incurring further costs and
to save time. Most importantly, the appellant stated that
he made a
‘with prejudice’ offer in order to have this matter
settled and to save costs. The high court’s finding
has the
effect of defeating the whole purpose of
rule 34.
[20]
An assumption cannot be made that a claim has been admitted simply on
the basis of the offer
to settle. The appellant, in his answering
affidavit, denied that the accrual in his estate exceeded that of the
respondent. He
put up detailed calculations to demonstrate that his
accrual was lesser. The respondent did not attempt to contest this in
her
replying affidavit. The first hurdle of whether or not there was
a
prima facie
right of an accrual claim, has not been overcome
by the respondent. On this point alone, the application ought to have
been refused.
[21]
The second issue is whether there was any evidence of an intention to
render the respondent’s
claim hollow. The only averments in
this regard related to the establishment of the trust and the
investment in the annuity. Apart
from the fact that dispositions to
the trust and the annuity occurred more than two years prior to the
institution of the application,
they were simply not proximate to the
sale of the property. Further, the trust was expressly for the
children’s financial
support. The money in the annuity remains
invested in the appellant’s name and he has the right to it. It
did not disappear.
The respondent was offered an opportunity to
forensically examine the appellant’s financial position in the
rule 34
offer, but she declined to do so.
[22]
Further, the reason to sell the property is sound. The appellant was
64 years old when the application
was lodged. It is common cause that
he was no longer employed. The averment that he needed to sell the
property to settle his debts
does not show intent to get rid of his
funds in order to defeat the respondent’s claim and render it
hollow.
[23]
Faced with the difficulty of establishing the jurisdictional
requirements for the granting of
the relief sought, the respondent
sought to rely on the statement in
Knox D’Arcy
that
there may be exceptional circumstances in which intention to render
an applicant’s claim hollow by secreting assets,
is not
required to be shown. Counsel for the respondent submitted that an
anti-dissipation relief in matrimonial matters is such
a situation.
He further submitted that the Court in
Knox D’Arcy
left
this issue open. He referred to several high court judgments, which I
discuss below, as support for the view that it is ‘the
likely
effect’ and not the intention, which is important.
[24]
The respondent attempted to distinguish the facts in
Knox D’Arcy
from the present facts by contending that
Knox D’Arcy
dealt with commercial issues and not matrimonial issues as is in her
matter. She argued that in her case, she had a vested right
to claim
against the appellant’s estate because of the dissolution of
the marriage, which was premised upon the ante-nuptial
contract. She
alleged that she has an accrual claim against the appellant’s
estate; that the appellant has acknowledged that
claim by presenting
the tender to her; and that according to her, fell squarely within
the exceptional circumstances referred to
in
Knox D’Arcy
.
[25]
The respondent did not base her claim on exceptional circumstances in
her founding affidavit.
Neither did she allege that the appellant’s
conduct was not
bona fide
. In her founding affidavit she
alleged that the appellant would dissipate his assets with the
objective of frustrating her claim.
These are the grounds on which
the high court granted the relief she sought. She made her case in
her founding affidavit and cannot,
at this stage, change the basis of
her claim. She must stand or fall by the allegations she made in her
founding papers and cannot
seek to make out a new case in argument
and more so on appeal.
[26]
Even so, to qualify as exceptional, the circumstances must be out of
the ordinary and of an unusual
nature, something which is excepted in
the sense that the general rule does not apply to it; something
uncommon, rare or different.
10
I am not persuaded that enough material was submitted for the
respondent’s case to constitute exceptional circumstances,
that
would justify the application of a lesser threshold than the one
stated in
Knox
D’Arcy
.
Something more than the allegation that the parties’ marriage
was out of community of property with accrual system may be
required.
This has however not been shown in this case.
The
findings above render it unnecessary to consider whether the other
elements to satisfy an interim interdict had been met.
Did
the high court apply the correct applicable legal principle?
[27]
The high court did not deem it necessary to apply the requirements as
stated in
Knox
D’Arcy
.
Instead, it preferred the dictum in
JLT
v CHT and Another
11
(JLT)
which held that:
‘
.
. . it is not essential to establish an intention on the part of the
respondent to frustrate an anticipated judgment
if
the conduct of the respondent is likely to have that effect
.’
12
[28]
The dictum in
JLT
does not reflect the
correct legal position. This Court has made it clear in
Knox
D’Arcy
that
an applicant must show that the respondent possessed a particular
state of mind in his conduct.
JLT
has,
unfortunately, found favour with various divisions of the high court.
In
Gernetsky
v
Gernetsky
13
the
high court held that it is not a requirement for the applicant to
show a fraudulent intent for the relief, in a matter where
a spouse
sought anti-dissipatory relief relevant to an accrual claim. The
court considered whether such relief between spouses
was not an
exceptional circumstance referred to in
Knox
D’Arcy
.
It however did not make a finding on this issue.
JLT
was
recently followed and quoted wrongly in
SM
v JM and Another
(
SM
)
14
as though it appears in
Knox-D’Arcy
.
[29]
As stated above,
JLT
and the
cases that followed it, do not reflect the correct legal position.
Knox
D’Arcy,
a
decision of this Court, settled the matter on the requirement of
intent in anti-dissipation applications. The high courts were
bound
to follow the decision of this Court, which is precedent. Following
precedent is not simply a matter of respect for higher
authority,
‘[i]t is a manifestation of the rule of law itself, which in
turn is a founding value of our Constitution’.
15
[30]
For these reasons, I find that the high court erred in granting the
relief sought. The next issue
is whether the relief granted, being an
interim interdict, is appealable.
Appealability
of an interim interdict
[31]
The Constitutional Court has held that the interests of justice
standard has subsumed the common
law test on appealability of interim
orders. In
City
of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v Afriforum and Another
16
it held:
‘
The
common-law test for appealability has since been denuded of its
somewhat inflexible nature. Unsurprisingly so because the common
law
is not on par with but subservient to the supreme law that prescribes
the interests of justice as the only requirement to be
met for the
grant of leave to appeal. Unlike before, appealability no longer
depends largely on whether the interim order
appealed against has
final effect or is dispositive of a substantial portion of the relief
claimed in the main application. All
this is now subsumed under the
constitutional interests of justice standard. The over-arching
role of interests of justice
considerations has relativised the final
effect of the order or the disposition of the substantial portion of
what is pending before
the review court, in determining
appealability. The principle was set out in
OUTA
by
Moseneke DCJ in these terms:
“
This
Court has granted leave to appeal in relation to interim orders
before. It has made it clear that the operative standard is
the
‘interests of justice’. To that end, it must have regard
to and weigh carefully all germane circumstances. Whether
an interim
order has a final effect or disposes of a substantial portion of the
relief sought in a pending review is a relevant
and important
consideration. Yet, it is not the only or always decisive
consideration. It is just as important to assess whether
the
temporary restraining order has an immediate and substantial effect,
including whether the harm that flows from it is serious,
immediate,
ongoing and irreparable”.’
[32]
This was reaffirmed in
United
Democratic Movement and Another v Lebashe Investment Group (Pty) Ltd
and Others
17
in which the following was stated:
‘
[43]
Whether an interim order has final effect or disposes of a
substantial portion of the relief sought in a pending review is
merely one consideration. Under the common law principle as laid
down in
Zweni
,
if none of the requirements set out therein were met, it was the end
of the matter. But now the test of appealability is the interests
of
justice, and no longer the common law test as set out in
Zweni
.
. . .
[45]
What is to be considered and is decisive in deciding whether a
judgment is appealable, even if the
Zweni
requirements
are not fully met, is the interests of justice of a particular case
and whether or not an order lacking one or
more of the factors set
out in
Zweni
constitutes a “decision”
for the purposes of
s 16(1)(a)
of the
Superior Courts Act. Over
and above the common law test, it is well established that an
interim order may be appealed against if the interests of justice
so
dictate. It is thus in the interests of justice that the
impugned interim interdict is appealable on the allegation that
the
interdictory relief in question resulted in the infringement of the
right to freedom of expression.’
[33]
The interests of justice to have the high court’s order
appealed against, have been amply
demonstrated in this matter. First,
the high court was wrong to regard the tender in terms of
rule 34
as
substantiation that the respondent had
prima facie
demonstrated that she had an accrual claim against the appellant. The
onus was on the respondent to show that her accrual was less
than
that of the appellant and she failed to do so. Second, the high court
did not apply the correct legal principle as enunciated
in
Knox
D’Arcy
that the respondent has to show that the appellant
was dissipating his assets with the intention of defeating her claim.
Third,
it was important for this Court to decide the matter, in view
of the high court judgments that seem to suggest that intention did
not need to be shown, in these kinds of cases. To allow the order of
the high court to stand will, in these circumstances, results
in an
injustice.
Costs
[34]
Counsel for the appellant asked for costs including costs consequent
upon the employment of two
counsel. Generally, costs of the appeal,
including those of the application for leave to appeal must follow
the result. The basic
rule is that costs are in the discretion of the
court. In exercising that discretion, this Court, must consider
whether it was
reasonable to employ two counsel. In doing so, it must
consider the importance and the complexity of questions of law
involved
and the number of authorities referred to in the matter. In
my view, the factual and legal issues argued were not complex so as
to warrant the employment of two counsel. Accordingly, the
appellant’s costs should be limited to costs consequent to the
employment of one counsel.
[35]
In the result, the following is made:
1. The application to
submit further evidence is dismissed with costs.
2. The appeal is upheld
with costs, such costs limited to the costs of one counsel.
3. Paragraphs 5 and 6 of
the order of the high court are set aside and replaced with the
following:
‘
The
anti-dissipation application is dismissed with costs.’
F E MOKGOHLOA
JUDGE OF APPEAL
APPEARANCES
For the appellant:
A Bester SC and R
Bossman
Instructed by:
Fairbridges
Wertheim Becker Attorneys, Johannesburg
Phatshoane
Henney Attorneys, Bloemfontein
For the respondent:
WA de Beer and W.C
Carstens
Instructed by:
Shaban
Clark Coetzee Attorneys, Johannesburg
Honey Attorneys,
Bloemfontein.
1
Colman
v Dunbar
1933
AD 141
(A) at 161-162.
2
Rail
Commuters Action Group and Others v Transnet Ltd t/a Metrorail and
Others
[2004]
ZACC 20
;
2005 (2) SA 359
(CC);
2005 (4) BCLR 301
(CC) paras 41-43.
3
O’Shea
NO v Van Zyl NO and Others
[2011]
ZASCA 156
;
2012 (1) SA 90
(SCA);
[2012] 1 All SA 303
(SCA) para 9.
4
Setlogelo
v Setlogelo
1914
AD 221
at 227;
Webster
v Mitchell
1948
(1) SA 1186
(W) at 1187.
5
Knox
D'Arcy Ltd. and Others v Jamieson and Others
[1996] ZASCA 58
;
1996
(4) SA 348
(SCA);
[1996] 3 All SA 669
(A) at 31.
6
Ibid at 63.
7
Bassani
Mining (Pty) Ltd v Sebosat (Pty) Ltd and Others
[2021] ZASCA 126
para 1.
8
Knox
D'Arcy
fn
5 at 64.
9
Visser
v Visser
[2012]
ZAKZDHC 16;
2012 (4) SA 74
(KZN) para 32.
10
MV
Ais Mamas Seatrans Maritime v Owners, MV Ais Mamas and Another
2002
(6) SA 150
(C) at 156H-I.
11
J.L.T v
C.H.T
[2021]
ZAECELLC 4.
12
Ibid para 7.
13
Gernetzky
v Gernetzky and Others
[2007]
ZAECHC 17
para 9.
14
S.M v
J.M and Another
[2023]
ZAGPJHC 723 at para 39.
15
Ayres
and Another v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and
Another
[2022]
ZACC 12
;
2022 (5) BCLR 523
(CC);
2022 (2) SACR 123
(CC) para 16.
16
City of
Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v Afriforum and Another
[2016] ZACC 19
;
2016 (9)
BCLR 1133
(CC);
2016 (6) SA 279
(CC) para 40.
17
United
Democratic Movement and Another v Lebashe Investment Group (Pty) Ltd
and Others
[2022]
ZACC 34
;
2022 (12) BCLR 1521
(CC);
2023 (1) SA 353
(CC) paras 43 &
45.
sino noindex
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