Don’t lose your claim to prescription – Know the law!
“Ignorantia iuris nocet” (old Roman proverb meaning “Not knowing the law is harmful”) Most of us know how important it is to sue our debtors well before prescription permanently takes away our right to claim. But what if you did nothing until it was too late because you didn’t even know you had a claim […]
Creditors and debtors: Important new prescription judgment
“Running into debt isn’t so bad. It’s running into creditors that hurts” (Unknown) Debts prescribe (become uncollectable) after a specified period of time – 3 years for most run-of-the-mill debts but 30 years for others such as judgment debts, mortgage bond debts, property rates and tax debts. Various other periods apply to specific statutory debts […]
Purchasers are no longer a target for historical municipal property debts
On 29 August 2017 the Constitutional Court, through Judge Edwin Cameron, handed down a unanimous judgement in the matter of Jordaan v Tshwane Municipality. In terms hereof municipalities cannot collect outstanding property rates and services accounts incurred by previous owners from the new owners of the properties. Put more simply, new owners of properties cannot […]
CREDITORS: YOUR SPECIAL NOTARIAL BOND IS GOOD FOR 30 YEARS
Some good news for creditors here – the SCA (Supreme Court of Appeal) has just held that a 30 year prescription period applies to special notarial bonds. That’s important because it’s always prudent when making a loan or extending credit to take as much security from the debtor as you can. And whilst a mortgage […]
COULD YOUR PROPERTY DEBTS BE CANCELLED?
“How, on these figures, an employee of the bank could conclude that the farming may prove to be successful, is beyond me. It seems that money was just being poured into a bottomless pit.” (Extract from judgment below) If you are a bank (or other lender), or if you have borrowed money against your property […]
GARNISHEE ORDERS: ARE 2 MILLION OF THEM NOW INVALID?
An action plan for employers, creditors and debtors. “The ability of people to earn an income and support themselves and their families is central to the right to human dignity” (Extract from judgment below) “Garnishee” orders (more properly “Emoluments Attachment Orders” or EAOs) are often used by creditors to attach a debtor’s earnings. The debtor’s […]
MORTGAGES AND SECURITISATIONS: CRUCIAL NEWS FROM GRAHAMSTOWN
Securitisation is becoming a huge issue all around the world. A case currently in front of the Grahamstown court has highlighted this practice among banks in South Africa. Mr Davenport, an Eastern Cape farmer, took out a R3 million overdraft facility with Standard Bank with his farm serving as security. When the bank attempted to […]
HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS: ARE YOU STILL AT RISK ON INSOLVENCY?
Here’s a scenario that is unfortunately a real risk these days – You are a member of a Home Owners Association (HOA), Your HOA is struggling to recover arrear levies from another homeowner who has fallen into financial difficulty. If the arrears aren’t recovered, you and the other homeowners will have to chip in to […]
BEWARE PRESCRIPTION: THE TALE OF THE “WATERTIGHT CASE” THAT DIED A SAD AND SUDDEN DEATH
“Sad is the day when a party with a watertight case comes to court and he is stopped in his tracks by a sudden death due to a fatal blow from a watertight defence of prescription. The present matter is a classic case of this nature” (extract from judgment below) Here’s another warning from our […]