Case Law[2022] ZAGPJHC 318South Africa
Gauteng Housing Secondary Co Operative Ltd v Eastsleigh Court Housing Co Operative and Others (2021/22783) [2022] ZAGPJHC 318 (3 May 2022)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
3 May 2022
Headnotes
under the names and Stokvel Account numbers with it to be withdrawn or be transferred from those accounts to any other bank account, both internally or to any other banking institution.
Judgment
begin wrapper
begin container
begin header
begin slogan-floater
end slogan-floater
- About SAFLII
About SAFLII
- Databases
Databases
- Search
Search
- Terms of Use
Terms of Use
- RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds
end header
begin main
begin center
# South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
You are here:
SAFLII
>>
Databases
>>
South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
>>
2022
>>
[2022] ZAGPJHC 318
|
Noteup
|
LawCite
sino index
## Gauteng Housing Secondary Co Operative Ltd v Eastsleigh Court Housing Co Operative and Others (2021/22783) [2022] ZAGPJHC 318 (3 May 2022)
Gauteng Housing Secondary Co Operative Ltd v Eastsleigh Court Housing Co Operative and Others (2021/22783) [2022] ZAGPJHC 318 (3 May 2022)
Download original files
PDF format
RTF format
make_database: source=/home/saflii//raw/ZAGPJHC/Data/2022_318.html
sino date 3 May 2022
SAFLII
Note:
Certain
personal/private details of parties or witnesses have been
redacted from this document in compliance with the law
and
SAFLII
Policy
####
#### REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
####
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG)
Case
No: 2021/22783
REPORTABLE:
YES/
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES:YES
REVISED.
03/05/2022
In
the matter between:
GAUTENG
HOUSING SECONDARY
CO-OPERATIVE
LIMITED
Applicant
and
EASTLEIGH
COURT HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE First
Respondent
NOREEN
MNYANDA Second
Respondent
THANDAZILE
MHLONGO
Third Respondent
TEBOGO
SEKOBOANE Fourth
Respondent
CITY
ACCOMMODATIONS Fifth
Respondent
STANDARD
BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED Sixth
Respondent
CITY
OF JOHANNESBURG MUNICIPALITY Seventh
Respondent
JUDGMENT
TLHOTLHALEMAJE,
AJ
Introduction:
[1]
On 12 May 2021, the Applicant obtained an urgent interim order before
Dippenaar J, in terms of which the Sixth Respondent (Standard Bank)
was interdicted and restrained from permitting the monies held
under
the names and Stokvel Account numbers with it to be withdrawn or be
transferred from those accounts to any other bank account,
both
internally or to any other banking institution.
[2]
The interim order was granted pending the determination of the relief
sought by the Applicant under Part B of its Notice of Motion. The
rule nisi
was extended on no less than three occasions being
on 3 August 2021; 4 October 2021; and on 10 November 2021.
[3]
In Part B, the Applicant sought an order that the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents be interdicted and restrained from
demanding and collecting funds from the unit occupants of premises
known as Eastleigh
Court, situated at 153 Louis Botha Street,
Hillbrow, Gauteng (‘The Building’); from further
intimidating the occupants
of the Building, and further preventing
the Applicant from administering its duties. The Applicant ultimately
seeks that it be
confirmed as the only lawful managing agent of the
Building.
The
background:
[4]
The Building constitutes of units which were allocated by the Gauteng
Department of Housing to people who ordinarily qualified for free
state housing. The First Respondent, Eastleigh Court Housing
Co-operative (‘The Cooperative’), is a government
subsidised housing scheme of the Building which was registered by
its
tenants in 2001. The sole purpose of registration was the collection
of levies and utilities, which were then deposited into
the Stokvel
account held with Standard Bank.
[5]
The Second – Fourth Respondents are the tenants in the
Building.
They are also signatories to the account held with Standard
Bank, which account was the subject matter under Part A of the Notice
of Motion.
[6]
The Fifth Respondent (City Accommodations), is a registered company
whose
involvement in the dispute is currently to collect management
fees of the Building, and which the Applicant contends interferes
with its administrative duties as a managing agent.
The
dispute:
[7]
The dispute relates to the management and administration of the
‘Building’,
and in particular, the collection of levies
on behalf of the Co-operative with the ultimate purpose of servicing
municipal debts
and other creditors; attending to insurance of the
Building; complying with the bylaws; and maintaining the upkeep of
the Building.
The issue is whether the Applicant is the lawfully
appointed managing agent of the Building. The 1
st
- 5
th
Respondents’ case is that the Fifth Respondent is the lawfully
appointed managing agent of the Building.
[8]
In approaching the Court, the Applicant relied on a ‘
Management
and Business Development Agreement’
(The Main Agreement),
entered into between itself and the Co-operative on 01 May 2018. The
Agreement aims to regulate the engagement
of the Applicant in
providing certain administrative, management, and business
development services to the Co-operative, in accordance
with the
terms set out therein.
[9]
In the replying affidavit, and further in support of its contention
that
it was duly appointed, the Applicant also relied on a ‘
Property
Cession and Management Agreement
’ entered into between
itself and Members of the Co-operative on 10 October 2021. The
Applicant contends that a new board
of trustees of the Building has
since endorsed its role with this agreement.
[10]
Until the interim order was obtained, the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents were in control of the Stokvel Account that is collecting
funds from the occupants of the Building. The Applicant contends
that
notwithstanding its appointment as Managing Agent in accordance with
the agreements referred to, the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents have continued to collect funds from the occupants of the
Building, and that this conduct has prevented it from performing
its
duties as the Managing Agent. The Applicant in seeking its
confirmation as the Managing Agent has also accused the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents of having have demonstrated a lack
of accountability and probity in the management of funds held in the
Stokvel Account
with Standard Bank.
[11]
Subsequent to the
rule nisi
having been obtained, the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents approached the Court in terms of
Rule 6(12)(c) of the Uniform Rules, effectively seeking an order to
set aside the
preservation order. A supplementary affidavit was
similarly filed by the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents in opposing the relief sought under Part B of the
Applicant’s Notice of Motion. It is further significant to
note
that there has also been other interlocutory applications and counter
applications since the
rule nisi
was issued, which either
appeared to have fizzled out or were not pursued for one reason or
the other.
[12]
In resisting the relief sought by the Applicant, the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents initially disputed the validity of the
Main Agreement relied upon by the Applicant. This challenge was
however not
pursued with any vigour in that in the end, the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents’ case essentially rested on
whether this Court had the requisite jurisdiction to determine the
application, and
whether the Applicant had made out a case for final
relief.
[13]
In the Rule 6(12)(c) application, and further supplementary
affidavits, the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondent had
also raised various disputes related to the Applicant’s lack of
locus standi
to have brought the urgent application.
Allegations in this regard were that the Applicant had not registered
itself with the Estate
Agents Affairs Board, and was accordingly not
in possession of the requisite Fidelity Fund Certificate for it to
operate as Estate
Agent or management agent.
[14]
The 1
st
- 5
th
Respondents also disputed the
mandate of the Applicant as managing agent, contending that if there
was indeed an Agreement, that
mandate has since been terminated.
Reliance was placed on a separate
Service Agreement Contract
entered into between the Directors of the Cooperative and City
Accommodations on 01 February 2020, in terms of which the latter
was
duly appointed as the management agent of the Cooperative. These
disputed facts will be dealt with later in this judgment.
Jurisdiction:
[15]
Notwithstanding a myriad
of disputes of fact raised in all the pleadings, on the return date,
central to the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents’
defence in resisting the relief sought by the Applicant was that this
Court lacks jurisdiction to consider the
application. In
Zhongji
Development Construction Engineering Company Limited vs Kamoto Copper
Company SARL
[1]
,
it was reaffirmed that when a party raises a challenge to the
jurisdiction of a court, this issue must necessarily be resolved
before any other issues in the proceedings. This was so in that if
the court lacked jurisdiction, it is precluded from dealing
with the
merits of the matter brought to it
[2]
.
[16]
The question of
jurisdiction arose flowing from the provisions of Clause 5 of the
Main Agreement
[3]
, which
provides that disputes between the parties (
i.e.,
The Applicant and the
Co-operative), must be referred for a final and binding arbitration
process before a Co-operative Tribunal.
[17]
The submissions made by
the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents were that the
Applicant had not pleaded that the Court had the requisite
jurisdiction to determine its application.
Reference was made to
Girdwood
v Theron
[4]
for the proposition that
it was fatal for an applicant in pleadings to fail to set forth
particulars showing that the court has
jurisdiction. Aligned to this
submission was that the Applicant failed to explain why the Court
ought to disregard the provisions
of the very same agreement it had
relied upon in seeking relief.
[18]
The legal position in
regards to the jurisdiction of this Court in the face of an agreement
to submit disputes to final and binding
arbitration can be said to be
fairly settled. As a starting point, counsel for the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents had correctly
pointed out that the Applicant failed to plead the basis upon which
this Court had jurisdiction. However,
in
Foize
Beheer BV and Others
[5]
,
the
Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has since reaffirmed the legal position
that
in
the end,
jurisdiction
is determined by the court and not the parties. Once this issue is
raised as a preliminary point, it is for the Court
to decide, even if
the Applicant’s founding affidavit was found wanting in that
regard. It follows that the application cannot
merely be dismissed
based on a failure to plead jurisdiction. This is but one of the
overall factors to be considered by the Court.
[19]
The starting point is
that at a general level, t
he
decision to refer a dispute to private arbitration is a choice
exercised by contracting parties, which as long as it is voluntarily
made, should be respected by the courts
[6]
.
This is so in that when
the parties agree on such a clause, they not only
contemplate
it as a matter of commercial convenience and a mechanism for
resolving any disputes that may arise in the course of
their
relationship, but also view such a mechanism as being best suited for
their interests.
To
this end, courts generally avoid enforcing any contrary construction
of the agreement, that would allow parties to frustrate
this common
intention.
A
further consideration is based on
the
fundamental principle that parties should, in general, keep and be
held to their agreements
(pacta
servanda sunt).
[20]
Notwithstanding the need
to respect the sanctity of commercial contracts, it is equally
acknowledged that arbitration clauses do
not necessarily oust the
jurisdiction of the courts
[7]
.
This point was confirmed
in
Foize
[8]
.
The SCA in that matter further held that to the extent that
the
objection
in
limine
was
raised (as in this case), the Court nonetheless still enjoyed a
discretion whether to enforce the clause
[9]
.
As to how and when a court should exercise its discretion to enforce
the arbitration clause was dependent upon the particular
facts and
circumstances of each case, as well as the stage at which and the
manner in which the issue of enforcement of the clause
in question
was raised
[10]
.
[21]
In this case, it will be
recalled that the Applicant does not seek enforcement of the relevant
dispute resolution clause. Instead,
it seeks to escape from it. In
the Main Agreement, provision is made for any disputes between the
parties to be referred to the
Cooperative Tribunal. In the ‘
Property
Cession and Management Agreement
’
[11]
,
a similar provision is made, but for the disputes to be referred to
private arbitration. In approaching the Court rather than
referring a
dispute to the Co-operative Tribunal or arbitration proceedings, the
Applicant’s contention was that it elected
to do so, as the
Court could not abdicate its Constitutional mandate to determine the
matter even under its powers to regulate
its processes
[12]
.
[22]
The approach when
determining whether the Court has jurisdiction is not confined to its
Constitutional mandate. It has long been
held in
Gcaba
[13]
that in the event of the
Court’s jurisdiction being challenged at the outset (
in
limine
),
the applicant’s pleadings are the determining factor. For the
purposes of determining jurisdiction in this case, the test
remains
whether the Applicant has made out a case (i.e., discharged the onus)
in the pleadings, to convince the Court that it should
not in the
exercise of its discretion, refer the matter to arbitration
[14]
.
[23]
The Applicant correctly pointed out that a close reading of Clause 5
in both the agreements
it relied on revealed that the parties did not
expressly exclude the jurisdiction of the court. This however does
not at first
blush imply that the Court ought to retain the power to
hear the matter. The relevant portions of clause 5 in both agreements
is
similar, and provides that;
‘…
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, either party shall have the right, at its sole
discretion, to seek equitable relief from the Higher
court of
competent jurisdiction, without being limited in recourse to
arbitration,
in
the event that a breach by the other party of this Cession Agreement
shall result in irreparable injury to it or if monetary
damages would
be inadequate and impossible to calculate adequately
,
which equitable relief shall include (but not be limited to) the
entering of a temporary restraining order and/or a preliminary
injunction. This Section shall survive the termination of this
Cession Agreement for any reason.’
[24]
What the above implies is that where the Court is implored to
exercise its discretion and
hear the matter, at a minimum, and based
on the above portion of the relevant clauses, the Applicant is
required to demonstrate
that
a breach by the other party of the
Cession Agreement or of the Main Agreement shall result in
irreparable injury to it or if monetary
damages would be inadequate
and impossible to calculate adequately.
[25]
It has repeatedly been
stated that an applicant in motion proceedings must make out a proper
case in the founding papers, and is
bound to the case made out
therein. Thus, the applicant is not permitted to make out a new case
in the replying affidavit
[15]
.
In the founding affidavit, and beyond the obvious fact that the basis
upon which this Court had jurisdiction was not pleaded,
the Applicant
in seeking urgent relief under the rubric ‘
Irreparable
harm’
had
merely stated that the continued control of the funds by the 1
st
–
5
th
Fifth Respondents puts
the Building and its occupants in danger, as it is not being serviced
properly and its debts had increased.
This contention was the sum
total of the Applicant’s case in regards to any harm to it as a
result of the alleged breach
by the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents.
[26]
The above contentions hardly demonstrates in what material respects
the Applicant will
suffer or continues to suffer any irreparable
injury as a result of a breach (if any) on the part of the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents. It was correctly pointed out on
behalf of the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents that
the Applicant’s argument unwittingly advanced a case on behalf
of the residents of the Cooperative, who
nonetheless are (or at least
most of them), the respondent party in this matter. Effectively, the
Applicant’s pleadings spectacularly
failed to pass the minimum
hurdle of demonstrating a breach or irreparable harm or injury as
required in the agreements, for the
purposes of engaging the
jurisdiction of this Court.
[27]
Purely on the basis of the Applicant’s failure to demonstrate
that it satisfied the
exception under the very same clause on which
it alleged that this Court has jurisdiction, the Court should be
therefore be disinclined
to exercise its discretion in its favour and
assume jurisdiction, and that ought to be the end of the matter.
[28]
Other facts that led to
this Court to decline to assume jurisdiction relates to disputed
facts arising from the pleadings of both
parties. As a general
proposition, it is accepted that applications are not designed to
resolve factual disputes between the parties.
Applications are
generally decided on common cause facts. Effectively, where final
relief is sought, issues surrounding probabilities
and onus are
amenable to being determined in motion proceedings
[16]
.
[29]
In this case, unfortunately, the parties’ pleadings are replete
with relevant irresoluble
factual disputes which are real and
genuine, and which invariably fortifies the conclusions reached in
this judgment that this
matter ought to have been placed before the
Cooperative Tribunal for determination in the first place.
[30]
It will be recalled that the Applicant relied on the ‘
Management
and Business Development Agreement’
entered into between
itself and the Cooperative on 01 May 2018, together with the
‘
Property Cession and Management Agreement
’
entered into between itself and Members of the Cooperative on 10
October 2021, in claiming legitimate authority to manage
and
administer the Building. The 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents on the other hand had relied on another separate
Service
Agreement Contract,
which is said to have been entered into
between the Directors of the Cooperative and the Fifth Respondent on
01 February 2020,
in terms of which the latter was duly appointed as
the management agent of the Cooperative.
[31]
In all three agreements, the central entity is the Cooperative, and
in the end, the dispute
revolved around individuals in its board, who
had purported authority for the purposes of entering into those
agreements. The fact
that one Cooperative could have entered into
three disputed separate agreements in terms of which different
managing agents for
the same Building were appointed, points to
deep-seated fissures within the Cooperative.
[32]
Aligned to the above is that the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents also raised disputes pertaining to the authority and
mandate of certain individuals who purportedly signed the agreements
in question on behalf of the Cooperative. Furthermore, the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondent also questioned the suitability of
the Applicant as a managing agent on the grounds that it did not have
a fidelity
fund certificate, which would have allowed it to hold
monies in its trust account. It was contended that the Applicant was
also
disqualified as it was not registered with the relevant
authorities.
[33]
In equal measure, the Applicant disputed the fact that the
individuals within the Cooperative
or the Building that signed the
resolution authorising the deponent to the answering affidavit to do
so had such capacity. The
Applicant alleged that the majority of them
were mere tenants, with some of them having had their membership
terminated. Furthermore,
it was alleged that the deponent does not
appear in any records of the Cooperative as being a chairperson or a
member of the board,
and that her
locus standi
was challenged
on the basis that she was not in possession of a South African ID
document. In this regard, it was alleged that
the deponent as an
undocumented foreign national, who would not ordinarily have
benefitted in terms of the general scheme of the
Cooperative and as a
legitimate tenant of the Building.
[34]
In the light of all the
numerous disputes of fact arising from the papers, even if the Court
was inclined to resolve these by applying
the so-called “robust
approach” referenced in
Fakie
NO v CCII Systems (Pty) Ltd
[17]
,
it
should nonetheless refuse to do so, as clearly there is no scope for
such a manoeuvre. Of importance however is that these disputed
facts
ought to have been foreseen by the Applicant.
[35]
In summary, the above
disputed facts and the conclusions reached in that regard sought to
highlight again the reasons this Court
declined jurisdiction. This is
so in that the Applicant has not demonstrated why this Court should
determine this application when
both the agreements it had relied on,
directed it to refer such disputes to the Cooperative Tribunal or
arbitration, or where these
agreements were placed in dispute. In the
end, based on the very same agreements, and what the Applicant has
pleaded, it has not
demonstrated the basis upon which this Court
should accept that there exist exceptions (
i.e
.,
breach which has caused irreparable injury or otherwise), that
necessitates that a discretion be exercised in its favour, and
that
the matter under Part B of the Applicant’s Notice of Motion be
determined. Further in the light of these conclusions,
it follows
that the enquiry ought to end at that point, without the necessity of
establishing whether the requirements of final
relief on the
Setlogelo
v Setlogelo
[18]
test have been met.
[36]
It further follows that the
rule nisi
granted on 12 May 2021
ought to be discharged. This is so in that the 1
st
–
5
th
Respondents have demonstrated the prejudice the
preservation order has caused to the Cooperative and the tenants of
the Building
in particular. Inasmuch as the Applicant has complained
about its inability to carry out its mandate in managing and
administering
the Building, and also cast aspersions on the integrity
of the 2
nd
– 4
th
Respondents, in the same
token, the preservation order has clearly hampered any effort in
ensuring that the Cooperative maintains
minimum services in the
Building.
[37]
At this point of the dispute, the interests of the tenants are
paramount, and whether it
is the Applicant or the Fifth Respondent
that is the rightful managing agent of the Building is an issue that
can be resolved through
the alternative dispute resolution route the
contesting parties chose in accordance with the agreements relied
upon. It is for
these reasons that the following order is deemed
appropriate;
Order:
1.
The interim order granted by the Court on 12 May 2021 is discharged,
and the
freezing or suspension of the First Respondent's bank account
number [....] held at Standard Bank is set aside;
2.
The Court lacks jurisdiction to determine Part B of the Applicant’s
Notice
of Motion.
3.
The Applicant is to pay the costs of this application
Edwin
Tlhotlhalemaje
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
Delivered:
This judgment was prepared and authored by the Judge whose name is
reflected and is handed down electronically by circulation
to the
Parties/their legal representatives by email and by uploading it to
the electronic file of this matter on CaseLines. The
date for
hand-down is deemed to be
03 May
2022.
Heard
on : 26 January 2022 (
Via
Microsoft Teams)
Delivered:
03 May 2022
Appearances:
For
the Applicant:
Adv. I Mureriwa, instructed by Mncube Attorneys INC.
For
the 1
st
– 5
th
Respondents:
Adv S. G Zwane, instructed by Dube N Attorneys INC
[1]
421/13)
[2014] ZASCA 160
(1 October 2014);
(2014)
JOL 32421 (SCA),
[2]
At
para 50
[3]
5. DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
‘
Except
as provided below, no civil action concerning any dispute under this
Agreement shall be instituted before any court, and
all such
disputes shall be submitted to final and binding arbitration before
the Co-operative Tribunal. The place for any arbitration
shall be
directed by the Tribunal, and provisions of the Co-operatives laws
shall govern, and the arbitrator solely shall apply
them to, the
interpretation and construction of this Agreement. Such arbitration
shall be in accordance with provisions of the
Co-operatives Act
before a single neutral arbitrator. If possible, the choice of
arbitrators presented to the parties shall include
persons who have
experience with management agreements and contractual matters. Any
award issued shall be made in accordance
with the Co-operative law
of the Republic in which the arbitration is conducted and shall
include the award to the prevailing
party of its costs and expenses
(including but not limited to attorneys' fees and costs and
arbitration costs and arbitrator’s
fees and the costs of all
dispute resolution proceedings (including, but not limited to those
incurred in or relating to any
and all trial and appellate
proceedings)). An award shall be final and binding and may not be
appealed or reviewed, except upon
the ground of malfeasance or fraud
by the arbitrator. Judgment upon the award may be enforced in any
court of competent jurisdiction,
wherever located. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, either party shall have the right, at its sole
discretion, to seek equitable
relief from the Higher court of
competent jurisdiction, without being limited in recourse to
arbitration, in the event that a
breach by the other party of this
Agreement shall result in irreparable injury to it or if monetary
damages would be inadequate
and impossible to calculate adequately,
which equitable relief shall include (but not be limited to) the
entering of a temporary
restraining order and/or a preliminary
injunction. This Section shall survive the termination for any
reason.’
[4]
1913 CPD 859
[5]
752/2011) [2012] ZASCA 123; [2012] 4 All SA 387 (SCA); 2013 (3) SA
91 (SCA)
[6]
Lufuno
Mphaphuli & Associates (Pty) Ltd v Andrews and Another
(CCT 97/07)
[2009] ZACC
6
;
2009 (4) SA 529
(CC) ;
2009 (6) BCLR 527
(CC) at
[219]
[7]
See
Universiteit
Van Stellenbosch v J A Louw (Edms) Bpk
1983
(4) SA 321
(A) at
333G
– 334B;
PCL
Consulting (Pty) Ltd t/a Phillips Consulting SA v Tresso Trading 119
(Pty) Ltd
98/06)
[2007] ZASCA 9
; [2007] SCA 9 (RSA);
2009 (4) SA 68
(SCA) at
para 7;
Parekh
v Shah Jehan Cinemas (Pty) Ltd and Others
1980
(1) SA 301 (D)
[8]
At
para 21, where it was held that;
“…
It
can now be regarded as well settled that a foreign jurisdiction or
arbitration clause does not exclude the court’s jurisdiction.
Parties to a contract cannot exclude the jurisdiction of a court by
their own agreement, and where a party wishes to invoke the
protection of a foreign jurisdiction or arbitration clause, it
should do so by way of a special or dilatory plea seeking a stay
of
the proceedings. That having been done, the court will then be
called on to exercise its discretion whether or not to enforce
the
clause in question ─ see e.g.
Commissioner
for Inland Revenue and another v Isaacs NO
1960
(1) SA 126
(
A)
at 134B-H,
Yorigami
Maritime Construction Co Ltd v Nissho-
Iwai
Co Ltd
1977 (4) SA 682
(C),
Butler
v Banimar Shipping Co
SA
1978 (4) SA 753
(SE) and
Universiteit
van Stellenbosch v J A Louw (Edms) Bpk
1983 (4) SA 321
(A) at 333G-H.” (Other citations omitted)
[9]
At
para 22
[10]
At
para 26
[11]
‘Clause
5.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Except
as provided below, no civil action concerning any dispute under this
Cession Agreement shall be instituted before any court,
until all
such disputes have been submitted to final and binding arbitration
before the appointed arbitrator. The place for any
arbitration shall
be directed by the Arbitrator, and provisions of the Company laws
shall govern, and the arbitrator solely shall
apply them to, the
interpretation and construction of this Cession Agreement. Such
arbitration shall be in accordance with provisions
of the Company
Act before a single neutral arbitrator. If possible, the choice of
arbitrators presented to the parties shall
include persons who have
experience with management Cession Agreements and contractual
matters. Any award issued shall be made
in accordance with the
Company's law of the Republic in which the arbitration is conducted
and shall include the award to the
prevailing party of its costs and
expenses (including but not limited to attorneys' fees and costs and
arbitration costs and
arbitrator's fees and the costs of all dispute
resolution proceedings (including, but not limited to those incurred
in or relating
to any and trial and appellate proceedings)). An
award shall be final and binding and may not be appealed or
reviewed, except
upon the ground of malfeasance or fraud by the
arbitrator. Judgment upon the award may be enforced in any court of
competent
jurisdiction, wherever located. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, either party shall have the right, at its sole
discretion, to
seek equitable relief from the Higher court of
competent jurisdiction, without being limited in recourse to
arbitration, in the
event that a breach by the other party of this
Cession Agreement shall result in irreparable injury to it or if
monetary damages
would be inadequate and impossible to calculate
adequately, which equitable relief shall include (but not be limited
to) the
entering of a temporary restraining order and/or a
preliminary injunction. This Section shall survive the termination
of this
Cession Agreement for any reason.’
[12]
In
reliance on
Standard
Bank of SA Ltd and Others v Thobejane and Others
;
Standard
Bank of SA Ltd v Gqirana N O and Another
(38/2019;
47/2019; 999/2019) [2021] ZASCA 92; [2021] 3 All SA 812 (SCA); 2021
(6) SA 403 (SCA)
[13]
Gcaba v
Minister for Safety and Security and Others
(CCT
64 of 2008)
[2009] ZACC 26
(07 October 2009
);
2010
(1) SA 238
(CC)
;
2010
(1) BCLR 35
(CC)
;
(2010)
31 ILJ 296 (CC)
;
[2009]
12 BLLR 1145
(CC) at para 75
[14]
See
Kathmer
Investments (Pty) Ltd v Woolworths (Pty) Ltd
1970
(2) 498 (A) at 504H
[15]
See
Director
of Hospital Services v Mistry
1979
(1) SA 626
(A) at 635F-636A;
My
Vote Counts NPC v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others
2016 (1) SA 132
(CC) at
para [177];
National
Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v
Openshaw
[2008] ZASCA 78
;
2008
(5) SA 339
(SCA) at paragraphs 29 to 30;
Bowman
NO v De Souza Raoldao
1988
(4) SA 326
(T) at 327D – H;
Lagoon
Beach Hotel (Pty) Ltd v Lehane NO and Others
2016
(3) SA 143
(SCA) at paragraph 16
[16]
See
Plascon-Evans
Paints (TVL) Ltd v Van Riebeck Paints (Pty) Ltd
[1984] ZASCA 51
;
1984
(3) SA 623
A at 634 – 635;
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v Zuma
(573/08)
[2009] ZASCA 1
;
2009 (2) SA 277
(SCA) ;
2009 (1) SACR 361
(SCA) ;
2009 (4) BCLR 393
(SCA) ;
[2009] 2 All SA 243
(SCA) at para 26,
where it was held that;
“
Motion
proceedings, unless concerned with interim relief, are all about the
resolution of legal issues based on common cause facts.
Unless the
circumstances are special they cannot be used to resolve factual
issues because they are not designed to determine
probabilities. It
is well established under the
Plascon-Evans
rule that where in motion proceedings disputes of fact arise on the
affidavits, a final order can be granted only if the facts
averred
in the applicant's (Mr Zuma’s) affidavits, which have been
admitted by the respondent (the NDPP), together with
the facts
alleged by the latter, justify such order. It may be different if
the respondent’s version
consists
of bald or uncreditworthy denials, raises fictitious disputes of
fact, is palpably implausible, far-fetched or so clearly
untenable
that the court is justified in rejecting them merely on the papers.
The court below did not have regard to these propositions
and
instead decided the case on probabilities without rejecting the
NDPP’s version.”
(Internal Citations omitted)
[17]
2006 (4) SA 326 (SCA)
[18]
1914 AD 221
sino noindex
make_database footer start
Similar Cases
Gauteng Refinery (PTY) Ltd v Eloff (A3005/2021) [2022] ZAGPJHC 739; 2023 (2) SA 223 (GJ) (2 September 2022)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 739High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)100% similar
Gauteng Provincial Government: Department of Human Settlements and Others v Pogatsi and Others (2020/19559) [2022] ZAGPJHC 762 (7 October 2022)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 762High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)100% similar
Gauteng Provincial Government: Department of Human Settlements and Another v Motasi and Others (2021/42636) [2022] ZAGPJHC 663 (8 September 2022)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 663High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)100% similar
Gauteng Boxing Promotors Association and Another v Wysoke (2022/11789) [2022] ZAGPJHC 312 (26 April 2022)
[2022] ZAGPJHC 312High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)100% similar
Gauteng Provincial Government : Department of Human Settlements and Others v Busha and Others (9074/2020) [2024] ZAGPJHC 138 (19 February 2024)
[2024] ZAGPJHC 138High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)100% similar