Case Law[2023] ZAGPJHC 435South Africa
Mercantile Bank Limited A Division of Capitec Bank Limited v Ross and Another (19791/2020) [2023] ZAGPJHC 435 (8 May 2023)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
8 May 2023
Headnotes
Summary: Insolvency Act 24 of 1935 – section 12(1) and (2) of the Act – act of insolvency – advantage to creditors – prospect that some pecuniary benefit will result – consideration of protection of innocent public from the insolvent - estate of insolvent sequestrated.
Judgment
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# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
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## Mercantile Bank Limited A Division of Capitec Bank Limited v Ross and Another (19791/2020) [2023] ZAGPJHC 435 (8 May 2023)
Mercantile Bank Limited A Division of Capitec Bank Limited v Ross and Another (19791/2020) [2023] ZAGPJHC 435 (8 May 2023)
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FLYNOTES:
INSOLVENCY – Advantage to creditors – Act of
insolvency – Where debtor does not have realisable
assets –
Estate can still be sequestrated – Intention of legislature
is to protect public from dealing with persons
who are unable to
pay their debts and whose liabilities exceed their assets and are
actually insolvent – Insolvency
Act 24 of 1935, s 12(1) and
(2).
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
CASE
NO: 19791/2020
REPORTABLE
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES
REVISED
08.05.23
In
the matter between:
MERCANTILE
BANK LIMITED
APPLICANT
A
DIVISION OF CAPITEC BANK LIMITED
And
MICHAEL
MAURICE ROSS
FIRST RESPONDENT
MICHELLE
BEVERLEY ROSS
SECOND RESPONDENT
Neutral Citation:
MERCANTILE BANK LIMITED v MICHAEL MAURICE ROSS & MICHELLE
BEVERLEY ROSS
(Case No: 19791/2020) [2023] ZAGPJHC `435
(08 May 2023)
JUDGMENT
Delivered:
This judgment and order was prepared and
authored by the Judge whose name is reflected and is handed down
electronically by circulation
to Parties / their legal
representatives by email and by uploading it to the electronic file
of this matter on Case Lines. The
date of the order is deemed to be
the 8
th
May 2023.
Summary:
Insolvency Act 24 of 1935
–
section 12(1) and (2) of the Act –
act of insolvency – advantage to
creditors – prospect that some pecuniary benefit will result –
consideration
of protection of innocent public from the insolvent -
estate of insolvent sequestrated.
TWALA
J
[1]
On the 13
th
of August 2021 the applicant was granted and
obtained a provisional order sequestrating the estate of the first
respondent with
a return day for the first respondent to show cause
why a final order sequestrating his estate should not be granted. The
first
and second respondents are before this Court to show cause why
the estate of the first respondent should not finally be
sequestrated,
the second respondent, who was married out of community
of property to the first respondent, having been successful in her
application
to be joined in these proceedings.
[2]
Initially the applicant contended that the first respondent has
committed an act of
insolvency after he failed to pay the debt on
demand in terms of section 8(g) of the Insolvency Act, 34 of 1936
(“The Act”)
. Secondly, the applicant relied on the
provisions of section 8(c) in that the first respondent disposed of
his immovable property
to the prejudice of his creditors at the time
when he was insolvent and that he was factually insolvent. However,
at the hearing
when the provisional order was granted, the applicant
abandoned the basis of its claim under the provisions of s 8(c) of
the Act.
I propose to refer to the first respondent as the respondent
and where I am referring to the second respondent I will do so by
mentioning the number of the respondent.
[3]
The genesis of this case is that the applicant lent and advanced
monies to a company
known as QD Cellular (Pty) Ltd
(“The
Company”)
during the period 2007 to 2017. The loan was
secured by the cession of the company’s debtors book, the
various notarial bonds
that were registered and suretyship
undertakings which were signed by three third parties and one of whom
is the respondent. The
respondent bound himself as surety and
co-principal debtor unto and in favour of the applicant in terms of
various suretyships
concluded over a period of time.
[4]
It is undisputed that in July 2019 the management of the company
advised the applicant
that, due to the financial strain, the business
of the company was no longer sustainable and that it could no longer
service its
loan with the applicant and that attempts to procure the
sale of the company were unsuccessful. Furthermore, in August 2019,
as
a result of the repudiation of the loan agreements by the company
and the acceptance thereof by the applicant, it was agreed between
the applicant and the company that the applicant would proceed to
perfect the notarial bonds registered in its favour over the
moveable
property of the company. The company is as a result no longer a
trading entity.
[5]
The proceeds received from the sale of the movable property were
credited to the total
debt owed by the company to the applicant and
this left an outstanding balance in the sum of R32 807 774.
41 owing to
the applicant as at 1
st
February 2020. In
breach of the suretyship agreements, the respondent has failed to
make payment to the applicant in the reduction
of the total debt. As
a result of the non - payment of the debt, on the 10
th
of
March 2020 the applicant dispatched a notice to the respondent in
terms of which the suretyship obligations and indebtedness
were
recorded. Furthermore, the notice granted the respondent an
opportunity to repay the debt due to the applicant and that if
he
failed to do so, the notice will constitute a notice in terms of s
8(g) of the Act.
[6]
In response to the notice of the 10
th
of March 2020, the
respondent contended that it is not indebted to the applicant in the
amount claimed and or at all. It was contended
that on the 15
th
of August 2019 the parties concluded an agreement whereby the
respondent was appointed to act as an agent for the applicant. Its
mandate was to dispose the movable assets of and to collect the trade
debtors of the company. The agreement was that, should the
disposal
of the movables and the collection of the trade debtors of the
company realise an amount of R12 million, the applicant
would be
released from his indebtedness in favour of the applicant.
[7]
The respondent testified in his answering affidavit that the
applicant made it impossible
for him to perform his obligations in
terms of his mandate as it interfered and prevented him in the
execution of his duties. The
applicant immediately after the signing
of the agreement took over and issued the letters of demand to the
book debtors. Such conduct
by the applicant amounted to a breach of
the agreement between the parties which breach resulted in the
respondent being unable
to realise the R12 million for the stock and
book debt of the company in order for him to be released from the
liability towards
the applicant. As a result, in December 2019 the
movable assets and stock to the value of R28 million were sold to a
single purchaser
known as KNR Flatrock for the sum of R2.1 million.
[8]
The applicant testified that it appointed the respondent as its agent
with a mandate
to dispose of the movable assets and stock of the
company and to be involved in its operation at a salary of R100 000
per
month. However, as the respondent seemed to be inactive, in
October 2019, the applicant issued letters of demand to the debtors
of the company for payment of outstanding debts owed to the company.
Again, at a meeting in October 2019, the respondent informed
the
applicant that the book debt was standing at R4.2 million but only a
sum of R1 179 843.98 was recovered. In light
of the
diminished value in the stock, it was decided that auctioneers be
engaged. The respondent was part of the decision and part
of the
preparation and organisation of the auction process and his approval
was sought and obtained with regard to certain lot
of the stock. The
stock in the auction yielded only R510 500.
[9]
The applicant revisited engagements of KNR Flatrock since there was
low interest shown
in the stock and KNR Flatrock offered to take the
stock at the sum of R2.1 million which the applicant accepted. The
respondent
was at all the relevant times aware of the negotiations
with KNR Flatrock since he was part of the negotiations with KNR
Flatrock
in July 2019 when it was suggested that the respondent be
employed by KNR Flatrock.
[10]
It is trite that for a creditor to succeed in an application for the
sequestration of the estate
of a debtor, it needs to establish that
it has a claim which is not less than the sum of R100 which the
debtor is unable to contest
on reasonable and bona fide grounds, that
the debtor has committed an act of insolvency and that there is
reason to believe that
it will be to the advantage of the creditors
of the debtor that his estate is sequestrated.
[11]
Section 12 of the Insolvency Act, 24 of 1936 (as amended)
(“the
Act”)
provides as follows:
“
Final
sequestration or Dismissal of Petition for Sequestration
(1)
If at the hearing pursuant to the
aforesaid rule nisi the court is satisfied that –
(a)
The petitioning creditor has established
against the debtor a claim such as is mentioned in subsection (1) of
section nine; and
(b)
The debtor has committed an act of
insolvency or is insolvent; and
(c)
There is reason to believe that it will be
to the advantage of creditors of the debtor if his estate is
sequestrated;
It
may sequestrate the estate of the debtor.
(2)
If at such hearing the court is not so
satisfied, it shall dismiss the petition for the sequestration of the
estate of the debtor
and set aside the order of provisional
sequestration or require further proof of the matters set forth in
the petition and postpone
the hearing for any reasonable period but
not sine die.”
[12]
I do not understand the respondent to be disputing that there is a
sum of money he is owing to
the applicant which is not less than
R100. But that he is not liable to pay the amount of R32 million to
the applicant as alleged
for the applicant breached the terms of the
agreement by interfering and preventing him from executing his
mandate (in terms of
the agreement) in order for him to be released
from his indebtedness to the applicant. I do not agree with this
contention of the
respondent. Firstly, the applicant appointed the
respondent as its agent and reserved its rights to revoke the
authority of the
agent in terms of the agreement. The applicant did
not furnish the respondent with the sole an exclusive mandate to
dispose of
the assets of the company and did not waive any of its
rights in any manner whatsoever in terms of the agreement.
[13]
It is therefore not open to the respondent to say that the applicant
interfered and prevented
him from executing his mandate in terms of
the agreement. The applicant legitimately exercised its rights
in revoking and
cancelling the agent’s authority in terms of
the agreement. The uncontroverted testimony of the applicant is that
the respondent
was part of the negotiations from the beginning to end
in the disposal of the assets and stocks of the company. He was even
involved
and participated in the process in auctioning the assets as
lots with the auctioneers. It cannot now be said that the applicant
repudiated the agreement of mandate which was concluded between the
parties.
[14]
It should be recalled that it is the respondent who provided the
applicant with a valuation schedule
of the book debts and the stock
in August 2019 which recorded an amount of R7.7 million. However, in
October 2019 the value of
the book debts and stock had diminished to
the tune of R4.2 million and due to the poor interest shown by the
industry players,
only an amount of R1.179
843.98 was recovered by the applicant. There was nothing
untoward in the conduct of the applicant when it exercised its rights
in terms of the agreement and took charge of the process
of realising
the assets and stock of the company. The respondent gladly received
the salary it was agreed upon and never raised
an issue with the
applicant that it was interfering with his duties.
[15]
It is therefore not correct that the target amount of R12 million
which was to be achieved before
the respondent could be released from
his indebtedness in favour of the applicant could not be reached
because the applicant interfered
and or prevented the respondent in
the execution of his duties. The undisputed facts are that the
respondent participated in all
the negotiations and dealings
including the auction process which culminated in December 2019 and
raised only an amount of R510 500.
The respondent’s
approval was sought and obtained regarding the sale of the stocks to
KNR Flatrock for the amount of R2.1
million. Therefore, if these
figures are added together they amount to a sum of money which is a
far cry from the sum of R12 million.
[16]
Once the R12 million threshold was not reached, the respondent could
not be released from its
indebtedness to the applicant. The company
remains indebted to the applicant in the total sum of R32 807 774.41
as at
the 1
st
of February 2020 after all the amounts
realised from the stock and book debts were credited to the account
of the company. The
respondent therefore remains indebted to the
applicant in terms of the suretyships agreement he has concluded in
favour of the
applicant. I am therefore satisfied that the applicant
has complied with the provisions of section 12(1)(a) and (b) by
demonstrating
that the company is indebted to the applicant in the
sum which is not less than R100 and that the respondent in fact
insolvent.
[17]
The respondent contend that the applicant has failed to demonstrate
that it is to the advantage
of his creditors that his estate be
sequestrated finally. He does not have any realisable assets, except
for the BMW motor vehicle,
which when sold could yield a “not
negligible” dividend in favour of his creditors. He has only
three creditors being,
a liability towards Nedbank and Discovery
arising from credit cards and the debt owing to the applicant.
Furthermore, the applicant
has failed to demonstrate what dividend,
in rand and cents, would be realised by the creditors if the estate
of the respondent
is finally sequestrated. Therefore, so the argument
went, it would not be to the benefit of the creditors if his estate
is sequestrated.
[18]
In
Meskin & Co v Friedman
1948 (2) SA 555
(WLD) at 559
the
court held that the right to an investigation by a trustee which
follows upon a sequestration is not sufficient in itself to
constitute the ‘advantage’ contemplated in insolvency
legislation. The court stated the following:
“
The
right of investigation is given, as it seems to me, not as an
advantage in itself, but as a possible means of securing ultimate
material benefit for the creditors in the form, for example, of the
recovery of property disposed of by the insolvent or the disallowance
of doubtful or collusive claims. In my opinion, the facts put before
the court must satisfy it that there is a reasonable prospect
–
not necessarily a likelihood, but a prospect which is not too remote
– that some pecuniary benefit will result to
thee creditors. It
is not necessary to prove that the respondent has any assets. Even if
there are none at all, but there are reasons
to believe that as a
result of an enquiry under the Act some may be revealed or recovered
for the benefit of creditors, that is
sufficient ….”
[19]
In
Dunlop Tyres (Pty) Ltd v Brewit
1999 (2) SA 580
(WLD)
the
Court referring to the Meskin decision quoted supra stated the
following:
“
It
will be sufficient if the creditor in an overall view of the papers
can show, for example, that there is reasonable ground for
coming to
the conclusion that upon a proper investigation by way of an enquiry
under section 65 of the Act a trustee may be able
to unearth assets
which might then be attached, sold and the proceeds disposed of for
distribution amongst creditors.”
[20]
More recently, in
Stratford and Others v Investec Bank Limited and
Others [2015] (3) SA (CC)
the Constitutional Court stated as
follows:
“
Paragraph
44: The meaning of the terms ‘advantage’ is broad and
should not be rigidified. This includes the nebulous
‘not
negligible’ pecuniary benefit on which the appellants rely. To
my mind, specifying the cents in the rand or ‘not-negligible’
benefit in the context of a hostile sequestration where there could
be many creditors is unhelpful.”
[21]
I find myself in disagreement with the contentions of the respondent
in this regard. There is
no onus on the applicant to prove that it is
to the advantage or benefit of the creditors and what dividend, in
rand and cents,
would be paid to the creditors of the applicant if
the estate of the respondent is sequestrated. I understand the
authorities quoted
above to be saying that it is sufficient for the
applicant to reasonably believe that it will be to the advantage or
benefit of
the creditors that the estate of the respondent be
sequestrated. In this regard, each case must be considered on its own
merits.
Although there is no onus upon the respondents to show that
the order is resisted on bona fide and reasonable grounds, he bears
the evidentiary burden do so. It is for the respondent to demonstrate
that it is not insolvent and that his assets far exceed the
amount he
is owing to his creditors.
[22]
It is on record that the respondent disposed of his only immovable
asset in favour of his ex-wife
on the basis of a divorce settlement
agreement which was made an order of court. It is also undisputed
that the applicant in its
meeting with the respondent in August 2019
suggested to the respondent that its immovable property, being the
Gallor Manor property
(“The property”)
, be
mortgaged in favour of the applicant considering the amount of the
debt owed by the company to the applicant. However, the
respondent
refused to bond his property for the debt of the company. According
to the deed office search at the time, the property
was registered in
the name of the respondent only and had a bond in favour of a
financial institution in the sum of around R300
000.
[23]
It should further be recalled that between the period of July 2019
and December 2019 there were
several meetings between the respondent
and the applicant, but at no stage during that period did the
respondent mention that he
was going through a divorce and that he
has paid off his bond over the property nor that, as part of the
divorce settlement, he
had concluded a settlement agreement whereby
the property has been given to his ex-wife. Until early March 2020,
according to the
deeds office searches conducted by the applicant,
the property was still registered in the name of the respondent.
However, later
in March 2020, through a deed office search, the
applicant discovered that the property was transferred and registered
in the name
of the respondent’s ex-wife.
[24]
Considering that the applicant does not have the capacity to
investigate the affairs and or the
assets of the respondent and that
he does not have to specify the rand and cents by which the creditors
would benefit if the estate
of the respondent is sequestrated, it is
my respectful view that the appointment of the trustee is necessary
in order to investigate
the suspicious circumstances under which the
property, said to be worth approximately R2.4 million, was
transferred. The sudden
settlement of the bond on the property and
its immediate transfer into the name of the respondent’s
ex-wife is suspicious
since the respondent was aware of the debt
owing to the applicant by the company of which he had signed
suretyships at that time.
Put in another way, there are, in my view,
reasonable prospects that the trustee may unearth some other assets
of the respondent
which may have some pecuniary benefit to the
creditors including the transfer of the property. The trustee is the
only person who
is empowered to investigate the affairs of the
respondent.
[25]
Even if I am wrong in finding that the respondent’s estate
should be sequestrated on the
basis of the reasons stated above, it
should also be borne in mind that the purpose of the
Insolvency Act
is
not only for securing the pecuniary benefit to the creditors, but
to protect the general body of the public from people who behave
in
this manner. It would be an absurdity to interpret
s 12(2)
of the act
in a way that, even if the creditor has established and met the
requirements of
s 12
(a) and (b), but the debtor does not have any
assets which when realised may yield a dividend to the benefit of the
body of creditors,
an order sequestrating the estate of the debtor
should not be granted because the sequestration of the estate will
not be to the
advantage of the creditors. I say so because that would
be a narrow and rigid interpretation of
s 12(2)
of the act.
[26]
It is now settled that, in the interpretation of a statute, Courts
must consider the words used
in the statute, the context and the
purpose for which the legislation was promulgated and other related
legislation. Section 39
(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of
South Africa provides that, when interpreting any legislation, and
when developing the
common law or customary law, every court,
tribunal or forum must promote the spirit, purport and objects of the
Bill of Rights.
[27]
In
Department of Land Affairs v Goedgelegen Tropical Fruits (Pty)
Ltd
[2007] ZACC 12
;
2007 (6) SA 199
(CC);
2007 (10 BCLR 1027
(CC); (6
June 2007)
the Constitutional Court dealt with the interpretation
of the provisions of a statute and stated the following:
“
Paragraph
53: It is by now trite that not only the empowering provisions of the
Constitution but also of the Restitution Act must
be understood
purposively because it is remedial legislation umbilically linked to
the Constitution. Therefore, in construing ‘as
a result of past
racially discriminatory laws or practices’ in its setting of
section 2 (1) of the Restitution Act, we are
obliged to scrutinise
its purpose. As we do so, we must seek to promote the spirit, purport
and objects of the Bill of Rights.
We must prefer a generous
construction over a merely textual or legalistic one in order to
afford claimants the fullest possible
protection of their
constitutional guarantees. In searching for the purpose, it is
legitimate to seek to identify the mischief
sought to be remedied. In
part, that is why it is helpful, where appropriate, to pay due
attention to the social and historical
background of the legislation.
We must understand the provision within the context of the grid, if
any, of related provisions and
of the statute as a whole including
its underlying values. Although the text is often the starting point
of any statutory construction,
the meaning it bears must pay due
regard to context. This so even when the ordinary meaning of the
provision to be construed is
clear and unambiguous.”
[28]
More recently, in
Independent Institution of Education (Pty)
Limited v KwaZulu Natal Law Society and Others
[2019] ZACC 47
the
Constitutional Court again had an opportunity of addressing the issue
of interpretation of a statute and stated the following:
“
Paragraph
1: It would be a woeful misrepresentation of the true character of
our constitutional democracy to resolve any legal issue
of
consequence without due deference to the pre-eminent or overarching
role of our Constitution.
Paragraph
2: The interpretive exercise is no exception. For, section 39(2) of
the Constitution dictates that ‘when interpreting
any
legislation … every court, tribunal, or forum must promote the
spirit, purpose and objects of the Bill of Rights’.
Meaning,
every opportunity courts have to interpret legislation, must be seen
and utilised as a platform for the promotion of the
Bill of Rights by
infusing its central purpose into the very essence of the legislation
itself.”
[29]
The Court continued and stated the following:
“
Paragraph
18: To concretise this approach, the following must never be lost
sight of. First, a special meaning ascribed to a word
or phrase in a
statue ordinarily applies t that statute alone. Second, even in
instances where that statute applies, the context
might dictate that
the special meaning be departed from. Third, where the application of
the definition, even where the same statute
in which it is located
applies, would give rise to an injustice or incongruity or absurdity
that is at odds with the purpose of
the statute, then the defined
meaning would be inappropriate for use and should therefore be
ignored. Fourth, a definition of a
word in the one statute does not
automatically or compulsorily apply to the same word in another
statute. Fifth, a word or phrase
is to be given its ordinary meaning
unless it is defined in the statute where it is located. Sixth, where
one of the meanings that
could be given to a word or expression in a
statute, without straining the language, ‘promotes the spirit,
purport and objects
of the Bill of Rights’, then that is the
meaning to be adopted even if it is at odds with any other meaning in
other statutes.”
“
Paragraph
38: It is a well-established canon of statutory construction that
‘every part of a statute should be construed so
as to be
consistent, so far as possible, with every other part of that statue,
and with every other unrepealed statute enacted
by the Legislature’.
Statutes dealing with the same subject matter, or which are in pari
material, should be construed together
and harmoniously. This
imperative has the effect of harmonising conflicts and differences
between statutes. The canon derives its
force from the presumption
that the Legislature is consistent with itself. In other words, that
the Legislature knows and has in
mind the existing law when it passes
new legislation, and frames new legislation with reference to the
existing law. Statutes relating
to the same subject matter should be
read together because they should be seen as part of a single
harmonious legal system.
Paragraph
41: The canon is consistent with a contextual approach to statutory
interpretation. It is now trite that courts must properly
contextualise statutory provisions when ascribing meaning to the
words used therein. While maintaining that word should generally
be
given their ordinary grammatical meaning, this Court has long
recognised that a contextual and purposive must be applied to
statutory interpretation. Courts must have due regard to the context
in which the words appear, even where the words to be construed
are
clear and unambiguous.
Paragraph
42: This Court has taken a broad approach to contextualising
legislative provisions having regard to both the internal
and
external context in statutory interpretation. A contextual approach
requires that legislative provisions are interpreted in
of the text
of the legislation as a whole (internal context). This Court has also
recognised that context included, amongst others,
the mischief which
the legislation aims to address, the social and historical background
of the legislation, and, most pertinently
for the purposes of this,
other legislation (external context). That a contextual approach
mandates consideration of other legislation
is clearly demonstrated
in Shaik. In Shaik, this Court considered context to be
‘all-important’ in the interpretative
exercise. The
context to which the Court had regard included the ‘well-established’
rules of criminal procedure and
evidence’ and, in particular,
the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act.”
[30]
The purposive interpretation of the act is that the intention
of the legislature is to protect the unsuspecting and
innocent public
from dealing with persons who are unable to pay their debts and whose
liabilities exceed their assets and are actually
insolvent. It is my
considered view therefore that where a creditor has demonstrated and
proved compliance with the s 12 (1) (a)
and (b) but failed to satisfy
the Court that sequestration of the estate of a debtor will bring
some pecuniary benefit to the creditors
in terms of s 12 (1) (c), in
that the debtor does not have any realisable assets capable of
affording a pecuniary benefit to his
or her creditors, his or her
estate should nonetheless be sequestrated. It would be an absurdity
not to sequestrate an estate of
a person who is unable to pay his
debts because that would be allowing him or her to continue to enter
into contracts with unsuspecting
and innocent members of the public
who will have no recourse against him since he or she does not have
assets which when realised
would not be to the benefit of the
creditors.
[31]
It should be recalled that, once an insolvent has been so declared
and his estate sequestrated,
his rights are to a certain extend
curtailed and therefore will be unable to contract without the
consent of his or her trustee.
That is the protection being afforded
the innocent public against mischievous conduct of insolvent persons.
It therefore does not
lie in the mouth of the respondent that he does
not have any assets to his name that may yield a pecuniary benefit to
his creditors
when are sold and therefore his estate should not be
sequestrated. The unavoidable conclusion is therefore that the
applicant has
made out a case which is unassailable by the respondent
and is therefore entitled to the relief that it seeks in terms of the
notice
of motion.
[32]
The second respondent applied and was granted leave to be joined in
these proceedings. It is not in dispute
that the applicant initially
placed reliance of its case upon the provisions of s 8(c) of the act
that the first respondent committed
an act of insolvency by disposing
of its immovable property in favour of the second respondent in terms
of a divorce settlement
agreement which was made an order of court.
Such disposition had the effect of preferring one creditor above
others. However, on
the day of hearing of the matter when the
provisional order was granted, the applicant abandoned and did not
persist with its claim
under the provisions of s 8(c). Instead the
applicant proceeded with its claim under s 8 (g) and the order was
granted on the 13
th
August 2021.
[33]
It is surprising that the on the 7
th
of October 2021,
almost two months after the judgment and provisional order was
granted, the second respondent decided to launch
the application to
join these proceeding. The second respondent did not partake in those
proceedings when the provisional order
was granted. It is clear from
the judgment of the Court a quo that the issue of disposing the Gallo
Manor was abandoned by the
applicant and the Court a quo was called
upon to determine it as pertinently stated in the judgment. It
is not clear to me
why the second respondent has find it necessary to
involve itself in these proceedings when in fact the sequestration of
the first
respondent has no bearing on her since they are divorced.
Furthermore, I have doubts in my mind that the judgment of the Court
a quo was made available to the Court hearing the joinder application
otherwise in my view, the Court would not have granted an
order for
the second respondent to join these proceedings. I am therefore
unable to disagree with the applicant that the second
respondent has
created unnecessary costs for the applicant by causing unnecessary
filing of affidavits and this cannot be countenanced.
[34]
In the circumstances, I make the following order:
1.
The estate of the first respondent is sequestrated and placed in the
hand of
the Master of the High Court, Johannesburg.
2.
Costs of the application to be borne by the insolvent estate.
3.
The second respondent is liable for the costs of the intervening
application.
TWALA
M L
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION
Date
of Hearing:
17
th
April 2023
Date
of Judgment:
8
th
May 2023
For
the Applicant:
Adv.
I Oschman
Instructed
by:
Bezuidenhout
Van Zyl & Associates
Tel:
011 504 5300
kulu@bvz.co.za
For
the first Respondent:
Adv.
J Sullivan
Instructed
by:
Schoeman
BormanAttornyes
Tel:
012 346 8606
sbattorneys@sblawyers.co.za
yolandi@netlaw.coza
For
the second
Respondent:
Adv.
M Naidoo
Instructed
by:
Tanners
& Associates
Tel:
011 783 0148
bernard@tanners.co.za
admin@tanners.co.za
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