Tell All Your Creditors When You Change Address! The Case of the Summons Served on a Complex Security Guard
“In my view, given the difficulties of a sheriff or his deputy accessing a security complex in the absence of the occupant for the purposes of service in terms of rule 4, service of process by way of it being handed to the security guard at the complex, a responsible employee older than 16 years, […]
Verbal agreements – Not much good, but lots of bad and ugly
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” (Spaghetti Western, 1966) A common myth – one that can get you into a whole lot of trouble if you aren’t alive to it – is that verbal contracts are not legally enforceable in South Africa. The opposite is true. With very few exceptions, our law will hold […]
Heigh ho, Heigh ho, It’s off to court we go – But what are the costs of suing?
“Agree, for the law is costly” (Marcus Tullius Cicero) As Roman lawyer and statesman Cicero pointed out two millennia ago, litigation comes at a cost. So first prize will always be to settle out of court. If you can’t settle and decide to sue, arm yourself with “deep pockets and nerves of steel”, particularly if […]
Bodies corporate: Before you sequestrate to recover arrears…
“Bankruptcy – a fate worse than debt” (Anon) One of a Body Corporate’s fundamental duties is to collect monthly levies from the scheme’s members, and to take robust action to recover any arrears. As with any other creditor/debtor relationship however, trying to recover debt can be an exercise in frustration and delay, and the more […]
Does Your Dog Bite? Your (Substantial) Risk Remains
Sued for R2.3m by a man brutally savaged by his three dogs in a public street, the dogs’ owner was faced with a risk that has applied to all owners of domesticated animals for centuries – being held liable on a “no-fault” basis. That catches many pet owners off guard because it is very different […]
Friends and lovers: Before you lend out your car…
This is a case of a “love relationship” gone wrong but the principles of vehicle ownership apply to any situation in which you lend a motor vehicle to anyone else. A widely-held misconception is that if you are the registered owner of a car, it is yours and you are the owner. Not so, as […]
Your neighbour builds without plans – Can you get a demolition order?
What can you do if your neighbour has started (or finished) building without the necessary municipal approvals? In a nutshell, our courts will very probably assist you with a demolition order, as a recent High Court decision around a long-running property encroachment illustrates. The 16 year saga of an encroaching garage A couple, owners of […]