Case Law[2024] ZAGPJHC 241South Africa
Essence Lading CC v Infiniti Insurance Limited and Another (2022-4024) [2024] ZAGPJHC 241 (7 March 2024)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
7 March 2024
Judgment
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# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
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## Essence Lading CC v Infiniti Insurance Limited and Another (2022-4024) [2024] ZAGPJHC 241 (7 March 2024)
Essence Lading CC v Infiniti Insurance Limited and Another (2022-4024) [2024] ZAGPJHC 241 (7 March 2024)
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sino date 7 March 2024
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH
AFRICA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG LOCAL
DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
1.REPORTABLE: NO
2.OF INTEREST TO OTHER
JUDGES: NO
3.REVISED: YES
7
March 202
CASE NO: 2022/4024
In the matter between:
ESSENCE LADING
CC
PLAINTIFF
and
INFINITI INSURANCE
LIMITED
FIRST DEFENDANT
MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING
COMPANY
(PTY)
LTD
SECOND DEFENDANT
JUDGMENT –
APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL
D MARAIS AJ:
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
REGARDING THE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL
[1]
This is an application for leave to appeal
this court’s judgment and order dated 9 June 2023, dismissing
an application by
the applicant in terms of Rule 28 for leave to
effect an amendment, by changing the name of the second defendant
from Mediterranean
Shipping Company (Pty) Ltd (“MEDITERREANEAN”)
to MSC Logistics (Pty) Ltd (“MSC”).
[2]
The
application for leave to appeal is prolix, with the grounds of appeal
set out in the form of arguments intertwined with each
other. In this
regard the applicant failed to comply with the requirement that the
grounds of appeal be set out succinctly, in
clear and unambiguous
terms.
[1]
In particular, the applicant formulated the grounds of appeal by way
of complex sentences containing subordinated conjunctions
which,
instead of drawing elucidating connections between ideas, mainly
served to obfuscate the point the applicant was attempting
to make.
[3]
Some points are not contained in complete
sentences, and do not convey a conclusion. Some sentences do not make
grammatical sense
and is difficult to understand.
[4]
Another material difficulty is that the
applicant in certain respects refers to a specific issue and then
misleadingly attempts
to draw a relation between that issue and
another issue or conclusion, where the two clearly bear no relation
to each other, resulting
in a logical fallacy. The applicant also
attempted to rely on alleged evidence, which simply did not exist.
This also resulted
in the applicant often resorting to a
petitio
principii
.
[5]
The same approach permeated the applicant’s
address to the court during the hearing of the main application and
the present
application, which rendered the address particularly
unhelpful.
[6]
Against this background, the court shall
use its best endeavours to understand the points raised by the
applicant and shall attempt
to distil the points which may have some
substance.
THE GROUNDS OF APPEAL
AND THE PROSPECTS OF SUCCESS ON APPEAL
[7]
Paragraph
1 of the grounds of appeal purports to set out findings which the
applicant regards as correct, except that in paragraph
1.1 the
applicant contends that, the court having correctly found that the
error made by the applicant amounted to a misnomer
[2]
,
that
should in itself have resulted in the application being upheld. There
is no merit in this contention, as:
[7.1]
it is trite law that the test for the
granting of an amendment is that the amendment should not cause
prejudice that cannot be cured
by an appropriate costs order or other
order regarding procedure;
[7.2]
the facts of this matter clearly illustrate
that even where the error in the citation of the second defendant
can, in terms of the
definition of a misnomer as set out in case law,
be described as a misnomer, the correction of such misnomer by way of
an amendment
which has not been served on the party to be introduced,
will result in incurable prejudice and an injustice; and
[7.3]
a finding that the error amounted to a
misnomer is clearly not dispositive of the matter.
[8]
Paragraph 2 of the grounds of appeal
contains generalised statements which need not be dealt with.
[9]
Paragraphs 3 to 6 of the grounds of appeal
contain many inaccuracies and incorrect statements. No purpose will
be served to forensically
analyse these deficiencies, as it seems
that the point the applicant attempts to be making is simply that the
summons was served
on MSC Logistics. This is of no consequence, as
the court indeed found that there were indications that the summons
was served
on MCS Logistics, it was assumed that it was so served,
and the judgment was based on such assumption in favour of the
applicant.
[10]
Paragraphs 7 to 9 of the grounds of appeal
are of importance in this matter. It concerns the question whether an
amendment introducing
a party as a defendant in a matter is
permissible without an application for joinder or application for
amendment being served
on the party being introduced. In this regard
a relevant consideration may have been
in
casu
whether MEDITERRANEAN’s
attorneys of record were also acting on behalf of MSC Logistics, with
the possible result that MSC
Logistics was effectively notified of
the amendment and will not suffer any prejudice due to the amendment.
[11]
In paragraph 8 several unfounded statements
are made in support of the contention that the court erred by finding
that MEDITERRANEAN’s
attorneys of record were not acting for
MSC:
[11.1]
The
applicant seems to state that no evidence was placed before the court
in the answering affidavit that MEDITERRANEAN’s
attorneys was
not simultaneously acting for MSC Logistics. In this regard, the
applicant relies on a
petitio
principii,
in
that it requires a rebuttal in the absence of positive evidence in
its own founding affidavit regarding the question who the
second
defendant’s attorneys were representing. In the founding
affidavit the applicant’s attorney stated that it was
intended
to cite MSC Logistics as the second defendant, as it appears from the
annexures to the particulars of claim.
[3]
The court found that to be correct. In paragraph 4.3 of the founding
affidavit the attorney stated that MEDITERRANEAN previously
represented MSC Logistics and is well acquainted with the dispute
between the plaintiff and MSC Logistics. On that basis it was
contended that it would be permissible to serve a notice /
application for amendment, introducing MSC, on MEDITERRANEAN.
Importantly,
no allegation whatsoever was made that MEDITERRANEAN’s
attorneys were also representing MSC. Consequently, in the absence
of
such evidence, there was no duty on MEDITERRANEAN to place any
rebutting evidence before the court in this regard. The applicant’s
contention in this regard is wholly untenable. The issue of the
attorneys’ capacity was simply not addressed at all in the
founding affidavit by the applicant.
[11.2]
The applicant stated that MSC had the
opportunity to respond to the founding affidavit in which it was
alleged that MSC was intended
to be the defendant. This is simply
untrue and wholly untenable, where neither the notice of amendment,
nor the application for
amendment was served on MSC. Service on
MEDITERRANEAN’s attorneys cannot be equated to service on MSC.
[12]
The statement in paragraph 9 that the court
erred by finding that MEDITERRANEAN’s attorney did not
represent MSC in this application
has no merit. The fundamental point
is that the applicant itself never alleged that MEDITERRANEAN’s
attorneys also represented
MSC in these proceedings.
[13]
The criticism expressed in paragraph 9 and
10 that the court placed more reliance on statements from the bar and
allegedly impermissibly
stepped into the arena is unfounded and based
on a complete misconception as to what transpired during the hearing.
As indicated
above, the applicant placed no evidence before the court
that MEDITERRANEAN’s attorneys also represented MSC in these
proceedings.
Consequently, the applicant in this regard failed to get
out of the starting blocks, so to speak. Against this background, and
somewhat concerned about the applicant’s predicament, during
argument I indicated that if MEDITERRANEAN’s attorneys
were,
unbeknown to the court, also representing MSC an injustice can
possibly result if the application is dismissed due to lack
of
service on MSC. I stated that I will not allow an injustice to be
done as a result of procedural games. Consequently, for the
benefit
of the applicant, the court implored counsel for MEDITERRANEAN to
take instructions and inform the court as to whether
his attorneys
were also acting for MCS. After an adjournment, counsel informed the
court that his instructions were that his instructing
attorneys were
only acting for MEDITTERANEAN in these proceedings. This resulted in
the applicant, having failed to make a start
on this issue, remained
on the starting line. The court made no positive factual finding
based on counsel’s advices to the
court from the bar.
Ultimately, the court found that there was no evidence that the
attorneys were also representing MSC. It is
regrettable that the
applicant fails to understand that, to the extent that it can be said
that the court descended into the arena,
the court did so in an
attempt to prevent an injustice being done to the applicant under
circumstances where the applicant failed
to place the alleged
evidence before the court. In this regard I am firmly of the
view that no other court will come to a
different conclusion.
[14]
The
criticism set out in paragraph 11 relating to the
Mutsi
– case
[4]
has no merit. As set out in the main judgment, in the
Mutsi
– case the application for amendment was served on the
defendant which the applicant sought to introduce, who opposed the
application and actively participated in the proceedings. Clearly no
prejudice could have resulted from the granting of the amendment
in
those circumstances. The present matter differs entirely from the
Mutsi
– matter, in that in the present matter the notice and
application for amendment was not served on MSC at all, resulting
in
irreparable prejudice. Once again, the finding that the error
amounted to a misnomer, as defined, is not conclusive on the issue
of
prejudice. I am of the view that another court will not come to a
different conclusion in this regard.
[15]
Paragraph 12 seeks to introduce a
completely irrelevant consideration, namely a weighing up of
prejudice between the parties. On
a proper analysis the applicant is
contending that the prejudice it will suffer due to the dismissal of
the application outweighs
the prejudice that will be suffered by MSC
in the granting of an order without notice to it and in its absence.
This contention
merely has to be stated to be rejected. No court will
uphold such an argument.
[16]
The
point the applicant seems to make in paragraph 13, read with its
heads of argument and argument in court, is that where the
two
parties, allegedly drew the battle lines in argument on the basis of
whether the error was a mere misnomer and whether the
amendment
involved a substitution, the court was absolutely bound to decide the
matter on that basis. It is trite law that the
test for the granting
of an amendment is whether the amendment will result in prejudice
that cannot be cured by an appropriate
cost order or other order
regulating future proceedings. In terms of section 165(2) of the
Constitution a judge is obliged to apply
the law. A judge will never
be bound by contentions by the parties which may have the effect of
preventing the court from applying
the law.
[5]
The issue of prejudice was fully argued in any event, with the
applicant contending, incorrectly, that the amendment would not
prejudice MSC, because it is allegedly represented in court by
MEDITERRANEAN’s attorneys. In any event the issue was never
as
limited as suggested by the applicant, as MEDITERRANEAN, in its
notice of objection, generally raised the issue that MSC was
not a
party to the proceedings and could not be made a party by processes
not served on it, but on MEDITERANEAN. This objection
was evidently
correct, and the application was dismissed on that basis.
[17]
Paragraph 14 is incomprehensible and
impossible to deal with meaningfully. Allegations are made that parts
of the main judgment
are allegedly in conflict with other parts,
which on a reading of the paragraph, is nonsensical.
[18]
In paragraphs 15 – 17 the applicant,
puzzlingly, seems to state that this court erred by holding that an
amendment will only
be granted if it does not result in prejudice to
the other party which cannot be cured by an appropriate court order.
It is trite
that this is the test to be applied. In the main judgment
the court found that the granting of an order, effectively against
MSC,
where MSC has not been notified of the process, will result in
irreparable prejudice. The point raised by the applicant is without
any merit.
[19]
In paragraph 18 the applicant contends that
a costs order could have compensated for the perceived prejudice that
will be suffered
by MSC and that the court should not have dismissed
the application. This
ipse dixit
falls
to be rejected. No cost order can eliminate the prejudice suffered by
a party against whom a court order is granted without
prior notice
and in its absence. As set out in the main judgment, such an order
would not only be contrary to the general principles
relating to
amendments, but also unconstitutional. The order will also be a
brutum fulmen
which
will not even assist the applicant.
[20]
Regarding
the points made in relation to the
Two
Oceans –
matter
[6]
in paragraph 19 and 20, I am not persuaded that I incorrectly applied
the different sets of facts on the issue of prejudice. The
facts of
the
Two
Oceans
–
matter and the present matter differ fundamentally. In that case the
correct defendant entered an appearance to defendant,
filed a plea
and received notice of the intended amendment correcting its
citation. It differs fundamentally from the present matter
where none
of the steps in the amendment process was served on MSC, which would
have resulted in irreparable prejudice if the amendment
was granted.
I am of the view that another court will not come to a different
conclusion in this regard.
[21]
The
applicant states in paragraph 21 that the court erred in finding that
the applicant used the same inappropriate procedure as
the procedure
in
MEC
for Safety and Security, Eastern Cape v Mtokwana
[7]
.
This
statement has no merit. Both in Mtokwana and the present matter, the
plaintiff attempted to introduce a party as a defendant
by an
amendment to the summons, without serving the application for
amendment on the party to be introduced. The process applied
was
identical. The only difference between the two cases is that
in
casu
the court accepted that the summons was originally served on the
correct party (but which was erroneously not named as a defendant),
whereas in the
Mtokwana
– matter the summons was not served on the correct defendant.
This is a distinction without a consequence in this matter,
as in the
present matter the ”correct” defendant, MSC, not having
been named in the summons as the defendant, did not
enter an
appearance to defend (as it was entitled to do, not having been named
as the defendant) and was not before the court when
the plaintiff
initiated the amendment. The critical point is that in both cases the
notice of amendment and application was not
served on the party to be
introduced, which is contrary to the fundamental principles of our
law.
[22]
Paragraph 22 contains a variety of
intertwined statements regarding the importance of the misnomer /
substitution distinction in
prescription and amendment cases. It
fails to set out a ground of appeal succinctly or even discernibly.
The discernible parts
ignore clear Supreme Court of Appeal authority
cited in the main judgment on the issue of prescription and distorts
the court’s
judgment on the importance of the misnomer /
substitution distinction in relation to amendments. The applicant
seems to contend,
once again, that the misnomer / substitution
argument is dispositive of the matter, which is clearly not the case.
[23]
Paragraphs
23 to 25 contain contentions which purportedly follows a line of
argument. However, the one contention does not logically
flow from
the other, which makes it difficult to deal with the points raised.
In paragraph 25 the applicant states that the court
correctly found
that a misnomer carries a lesser risk of prejudice than the situation
where the is a complete substitution.
[8]
The applicant then jumps to the conclusion that the application
should have succeeded for that reason. This is clearly an illogical
conclusion, as the
possibility
that there may be less prejudice in the case of a misnomer, does not
completely eliminate possible prejudice. It remains a factual
question whether in the circumstances of the case there will be
incurable prejudice or not. Once again, the applicant incorrectly
relies on the misnomer point being dispositive of the matter.
[24]
Paragraph 26 contains a prolix set of
contentions, which seem to contend that it was an abuse of the
process of court for MEDITERRANEAN
to enter an appearance to defend,
despite that fact that it was explicitly named as the second
defendant. This contention falls
to be rejected. The applicant also
seems to suggest that MEDITERRANEAN entered an appearance with the
mala fide
purpose of creating a prescription defence for MSC. In this regard,
the applicant simply takes no responsibility for the fact that
through the fault of its own attorneys the second defendant was
incorrectly cited and that MEDITERRANEAN, the named defendant,
was
entirely within its rights to defend the matter and raise an
exception. Any risk of prescription was undoubtedly created by
the
applicant’s attorneys’ incorrect citation of the second
defendant. The applicant states that it is not in the interest
of
justice that the doors of justice be closed to the applicant. In this
regard, the applicant completely disregards the fact that
at all
times it was possible for the applicant to bring an application for
the joinder of MSC Logistics and to appropriately amend
the pleadings
thereafter. This option still exists. The applicant seems to have an
underlying concern about prescription and seems
to think that the
granting of the amendment will somehow prevent prescription and is,
therefore, pressing the amendment. The applicant
seeks to solve this
perceived problem, by attempting to effect an amendment, where the
party to be introduced, MSC Logistics, is
not before court, there is
no evidence that it is represented in these proceedings and the
amendment papers have not been served
on it. Clearly an incurable
injustice will result from such procedure, and the applicant proposes
that such an injustice be done,
for the sake of solving a
self-created problem. This cannot be countenanced. Furthermore, the
perception that the amendment will
somehow solve the perceived
prescription problem, is also a fallacy, as any order granted
effectively against MSC Logistics, without
notice to it, would be a
brutum fulmen
,
and MSC would be entitled to argue that it is not bound by the order,
and that the order is entirely ineffectual. This will certainly
not
result in the issues between the applicant and MSC Logistics being
fully ventilated, as also contended by the applicant.
[25]
In paragraph 27 the applicant contends that
the court erred in finding that the circumstances of this case did
not present the opportunity
to make use of rule 28 to correct the
mistake. The applicant fails to state why this finding was an error.
The main judgment deals
fully with this aspect, and I am of the view
that a court of appeal will not come to a different conclusion on the
facts of this
matter.
[26]
In paragraph 28 the applicant states that
the court punished the applicant for the mistake, by refusing the
amendment, allegedly
contrary to accepted principles. This reckless
statement is absolutely untrue. The main judgment does not contain a
suggestion
of any kind that the applicant should be punished for the
mistake. Various findings were made in favour of the applicant and as
indicated above, the court event attempted to assist the applicant,
as explained above. The applicant attempted to make use of
a
procedure to effect the amendment that would result in incurable
prejudice and a procedural injustice contrary to the Constitution.
The application was dismissed due to application of the relevant
legal principles, as set out in the main judgment.
[27]
Paragraph 29 of the grounds of appeal deals
with an aspect of the main judgment, relating to prescription, that
was
obiter
and in respect of which the court expressly made no final and
definitive judgment. This has no bearing on the applicant’s
prospects of success on appeal.
[28]
In the premises, I am of the view that an
appeal in this matter has no prospects of success.
IMPERMISSIBLE
ATTEMPT BY APPLICANT TO PLACE FURTHER EVIDENCE BEFORE THE COURT
DURING THE HEARING OF THE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO
APPEAL
[29]
On the day of the hearing of the
application for leave to appeal, the applicant unilaterally uploaded
certain documents onto the
profile of matter on the court’s
online platform, CaseLines. During the hearing of the matter, counsel
for the applicant
sought to rely on such evidence in support of the
contention that MEDITERRANEAN’s attorneys were also acting for
MSC Logistics.
[30]
In this regard, I made a ruling that such
evidence, presented in the manner in which it was presented, is
inadmissible and further
I further ruled that I would have no regard
to such evidence in deciding this matter.
[31]
The reasons for this ruling are hereby
given.
[32]
In
terms of
s 19(b)
of the
Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013
, a court of
appeal is empowered to receive further evidence on appeal. According
to the cases, the following criteria must be met.
The general
principle is that the power to admit evidence on appeal should be
exercised sparingly. There must be a reasonably sufficient
explanation why the evidence was not tendered earlier in the
proceedings. The evidence 'must be weighty and material and
presumably
to be believed'.
[9]
[33]
No
provision is made in the rules for a prospective appellant to apply
to the court of first instance for leave to adduce further
evidence
on appeal. The reason for this is evidently that the court of first
instance does not have the power to order the leading
of further
evidence on appeal; the prerogative is that of the court of appeal.
However, there are examples where such applications
were entertained
by the courts of first instance, where such applications were brought
simultaneously with an application for leave
to appeal.
[10]
[34]
It would appear to me that the correct
procedure in such a case is that the applicant should in an
application for leave to appeal
make reference to the new evidence it
intends to lead on appeal and in such an instance the application for
leave to appeal should
be supported by a founding affidavit, setting
out the proposed new evidence, dealing with the requirements for new
evidence to
be admitted on appeal, demonstrating that the new
evidence will have a material effect on the outcome of the case, and
that there
are reasonable prospects that such evidence will be
admitted by a court of appeal, mainly on the basis that the new
evidence will
materially influence the outcome of the appeal. If
leave to appeal is granted, I am of the view that the appellant will
still have
to apply to the court of appeal for the admission of the
new evidence.
[35]
If an applicant in an application for leave
to appeal incorporate an intimation that it would seek leave to
adduce further evidence
on appeal, the respondent will be entitled to
deliver an answering affidavit in which it will be able to deal with
the requirements
for the leading of further evidence on appeal and
can, if supported by the facts, place facts and considerations before
the court
of first instance why the court of appeal is unlikely to
allow the further evidence, and why the possibility of further
evidence
should not influence the court in the application for leave
to appeal. The applicant would, of course, be entitled to file a
replying
affidavit on this issue.
[36]
In the present matter, the application for
leave to appeal contains no indication that the applicant intended to
adduce further
evidence on appeal. Consequently, the application for
leave to appeal was also not supported by a founding affidavit
dealing with
any new evidence or dealing with the requirements for
leading new evidence on appeal. Alternatively, there was no separate
substantive
application for the admission of further evidence on
appeal by the applicant .
[37]
Consequently, the respondent was not
properly alerted to the intention to lead further evidence, nor was
the respondent given any
opportunity to respond by way of an
answering affidavit.
[38]
As indicated above, the applicant simply
uploaded certain documents to the court record the morning of the
hearing and sought to
use these documents during the hearing of the
matter.
[39]
The procedure adopted by the applicant’s
attorneys in this regard is clearly impermissible. On that basis I
refused to entertain
such evidence.
OTHER COMPELLING
REASONS WHY THE APPEAL SHOULD BE HEARD?
[40]
The question arises as to whether there may
be other compelling reasons why the appeal should be heard.
[41]
In paragraph 25 of the main judgment, I
commenced the exposition of the law by referring to certain
constitutional considerations.
The point of departure is that
everyone has in terms of section 34 of the Constitution the right to
have any dispute that can be
resolved by the application of law
decided in a fair public hearing before a court. Section 173 provides
that the High Court has
the inherent power to protect and regulate
its own process, and to develop the common law, considering the
interests of justice.
I, therefore, held that the court is
constitutionally enjoined to approach this matter on the basis that
fairness and justice must
be promoted.
[42]
Against this background I also held that in
the correction of a mistake in the citation of a defendant (whether
this mistake be
described as a misnomer or the correction thereof a
substitution) the essential question is how this mistake can be
corrected in
a manner which complies with the constitutional
imperative of a fair and just process.
[43]
Later
in the judgment, I referred to the age-old principle relating to the
granting of an amendment, namely that an amendment will
be granted
where such amendment will result in no prejudice to the other party.
This has been qualified by the principle that prejudice
will not
prevent the granting of the amendment where the prejudice can be
cured by a cost order or another order relating to future
procedure.
In other words, an amendment will be granted where the amendment will
not result in incurable prejudice. Against the
aforesaid
constitutional background, I also used the term “incurable
injustice” in my judgment, which was intended
to mean the same
as “incurable prejudice” or “prejudice which cannot
be cured by a costs or other order”.
The terms “incurable
injustice” was also used in the same context in
East
London Industrial Development Zone (SOC) Ltd v Wild Coat Abalone
(Pty) Ltd and another
[11]
in which the main judgment in the present matter was cited with
approval and followed.
[12]
[44]
The accepted test relating to amendments is
entirely consistent with the constitutional imperative of justice and
fairness in civil
procedure. In this regard, no development of the
common law was necessary, and the court did not develop the commons
law, or deviated
from the traditional test. To the contrary, the
application was dismissed, because the amendment failed to comply
with the traditional
test.
[45]
Consequently, the fact that I sketched the
general constitutional background to the present problem, without
developing the common
law, would not be a compelling reason for the
matter to go on appeal.
[46]
A
further consideration is the approach in the main judgment towards
the judgment in
Holdenstedt
Farming v Cederberg Organic Buchu Growers (Pty) Ltd
[13]
.
In
Holdenstedt
the court held that a substitution can be effected in terms of the
rule 28 amendment process, stating that this procedure has already
received the approval of the High Court. In the main judgment in this
matter, I remarked that if taken as a general proposition
that
substitutions may be effected by way of the rule 28 amendment
procedure, I must respectfully disagree with it and that this
statement must in my view be qualified. After analysing various
judgments and scenarios, I then held that the abovementioned general
statement in
Holdenstedt
must
be qualified by the principle that no prejudice or injustice must
result from the use of rule 28. Consequently, the “qualification”
simply amounted to the application of the traditional test.
[47]
It
must also be pointed out that despite the slight disagreement with
the
Holdenstedt
–
judgment
on the aforesaid point, this court agreed with the approach of the
court in granting the amendment, because the court there,
with
respect, correctly held that the proposed amendments were served on a
member of the partnership and that the partnership effectively
had
knowledge of the proposed amendment and would not be prejudiced by an
amendment in terms of rule 28.
[14]
[48]
The minor difference with
Holdenstedt
similarly did not result in the
development of the common law or a deviation from the general
principle applicable to amendments.
To the contrary, the main
judgment reinforced the traditional test.
[49]
Consequently, this aspect also does not
constitute a compelling reason why the appeal should be heard.
[50]
In the premises, I hold that the there is
no reasonable prospect that the applicant will be successful on
appeal, nor is there any
other compelling reason why the appeal
should be heard.
[51]
Consequently, the following order is made:
“
The
plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal dated 3 July 2023
is dismissed with costs.”
DAWID MARAIS
ACTING JUDGE OF THE
HIGH COURT
GAUTENG LOCAL
DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
7 March 2024
This
judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties’ legal representatives by email and by being uploaded
to CaseLines. The date of this judgment is deemed to be 7 March 2024.
Appearances:
Appearance
for Plaintiff:
ADV E PROPHY
Instructed
by:
TWALA ATTORNEYS
Appearance
for Defendant:
ADV R BEKKER
Instructed
by:
COX YEATS ATTORNEYS
Date
of hearing:
6 December 2023
Date
of Judgment:
7 March 2024
[1]
Songono
v Minister of Law and Order
1996 (4) SA 384
(E) at 385I–J;
Hing
and Others v Road Accident Fund
2014
(3) SA 350
(WCC) par 4 and footnote 3
[2]
Which
the applicant consistently refers to as a “
misnoma
”.
[3]
Paragraphs 4.1 to 4.2 of the founding affidavit. Certain incorrect
statements are made in these paragraphs, which is not important
to
dissect here, and which have been dealt with in the main
application.
[4]
Mutsi
v Santam Versekeringsmaatskappy BK en ‘n ander
1963 (3) SA 11 (O)
[5]
See
Community
Property Company (Pty) Ltd v Crowie Projects (Pty) Ltd
2019 JDR 1970 (GJ) footnote 29
[6]
Embling
and Another v Two Oceans Aquarium CC
2000
(3) SA 691 (C)
[7]
2010 (4) SA 628
SCA
[8]
Tecmed
(Pty) Ltd and Others v Nissho Iwai Corporation and Another
2011
(1) SA 35
(SCA) par 12
[9]
Pepkor
Holdings Ltd and Others v AJVH Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others
2021 (5) SA 115
(SCA) par 49
[10]
See
Samancor
Chrome Limited v North West Chrome Mining Pty Ltd and Others
2022 JDR 0034 (SCA) and
Gumbo
NO v Spruyt
2020 JDR 1761 (GP).
[11]
East
London Industrial Development Zone (SOC) Ltd v Wild Coat Abalone
(Pty) Ltd and another
2023 JDR 4598 (ECGEL)
[12]
The two matters were distinguishable on the facts, rendering a
different result.
[13]
Holdenstedt
Farming v Cederberg Organic Buchu Growers (Pty) Ltd
2008 (2) SA 177 (C)
[14]
See
par 47 and 48 of the main judgment.
sino noindex
make_database footer start
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