Case Law
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The impact of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act on the legal profession On 25 November 2010, the Constitutional Court delivered judgment in the Law Society of South Africa and 10 others’ constitutional challenge to certain provisions of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act of 2005 (“Amendment Act”). To qualify for a reasonable claim under the Amendment Act, a claimant has to prove that he/she sustained at least a serious injury. The Amendment Act not only limits the number of road accident victims who will be able to claim from the RAF, but also limits the value of their claims, as a result of the limiting provisions relating to general damages and the caps imposed on loss of income or support. |
| 18/03/2011 |
 This was the question which the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) had to answer in the matter of Delphisure Group Insurance Brokers Cape (Pty) Ltd vs Dippenaar and Others. The first and second respondents in the appeal, Dippenaar and another, were wheat farmers in the Western Cape who instituted a claim against the appellant, Delphisure. The appellant was an insurance broker that sole crop insurance product known as Farmsure. |
| 18/03/2011 |
 In terms of our law and in particular the General Law Amendment Act No. 50 of 1956 (“the Act”) no contract of suretyship shall be valid unless the terms thereof are embodied in a written document signed by or on behalf of the sureties. There are 5 essential terms which need to be contained in a contract of suretyship, namely the identity of the creditor, the debtor, the surety and the nature and amount of the principal debt. Failure to complete the essential terms of the suretyship agreement would mean that the contract would be invalid for failure to comply with the statutory formalities. In the recent matter of Nedbank Limited vs Wizard Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others the Johannesburg High Court considered an application or summary judgment by the Bank against the defendants who were sureties for a close corporation. |
| 18/03/2011 |
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South Africa: a debtor’s paradise or not? In terms of Section 86(10) of the National Credit Act No. 34 of 205 (“the NCA”), where a consumer is in default under a credit agreement that is being reviewed in terms of that Section, the credit provider in respect of that agreement may give notice in the prescribed manner to the consumer, to terminate that review, to the debt counsellor and the National Credit Regulator, at any time at least 60 business days after the date on which the consumer applied for debt review. |
| 18/03/2011 |
 The Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (the CPA) is coming into force on 31 March 2011. It will have a significant effect on the supply of goods and services. The act will also regulate the relationship between suppliers and consumers in detail. One of the most controversial provisions of the CPA relates to the liability of suppliers. If someone supplies goods, and those goods cause harm to the consumer, the supplier will be liable for the harm. This will be the case even if the supplier was not negligent. Further, all parties in the supply chain can be held liable by the consumer. This includes the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the business that sells the goods to the public. |
| 18/03/2011 | Posted in: Banking Law and Civil Litigation |
 Swartland Winery was established as a co-operative in what was then the Malmesbury Wine of Origin District in the Western Cape in 1948. This district, which became known as “Swartland” in 1975, today has its own wine route, spanning Malmesbury, Piketberg, Porterville, Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West. It boasts many reputable wineries including Riebeek Cellars, Kloovenburg, Allesverloren, Darling Cellars and Pulpit Rock, to name but a few. |
| 18/03/2011 | Posted in: Intellectual Property |
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Practical Law Company (PLC) Cross-border Life Sciences Handbook 2010/11 Click here to read the article Practical_Law_Company_(PLC)_Cross-border_Life_Sciences_Handbook_2010-11.pdf |
| 18/03/2011 | Posted in: Intellectual Property and Patents |
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Forewarned is forearmed: when deregistration matters most The deregistration of companies has far reaching consequences for companies and is fast becoming a pressing concern for large scale creditors, such as financial institutions and insurance companies, that none can afford to ignore. |
| 18/03/2011 | Posted in: Commercial Law |
 The Competition Commission is investigating 65 bid-rigging cases in the construction sector, involving more than 70 projects worth about R29-billion. According to the Competition Commission, it has uncovered anti-competitive conduct across the construction industry. |
| 18/03/2011 | Posted in: Competition Law and Commercial Law |
 The Transvaal Provincial Division has given judgment in African Sun Hotels (Pty) Ltd v The Registrar of Companies & another, Case No. 58013/2007, a case which has implications about formal notices sent to a company at its registered address. |
| 9/12/2008 | Posted in: Trade Marks and Intellectual Property |
 The website domain name mixit.co.za was recently the subject of a dispute and some confusion has arisen about the implications of the ruling. This article is intended to clear up misconceptions. |
| 20/11/2008 | Posted in: Intellectual Property and IT Law |
 How often have you considered patenting in Africa when considering your Intellectual Property strategy and decided that it would not be worthwhile because it would be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce your rights there? Well, the recent success of Pfizer, in respect of Pfizer Inc v Cosmos Limited (Case No. 49 of 2006), is a strong indication that you may have been wrong and that you should give filing your patents in Africa serious thought. |
| 13/11/2008 | Posted in: Intellectual Property and Patents |
 US-based Hillcrest Laboratories has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging that Nintendo has infringed Hillcrest’s patents in the making of its Wii video game. Wii has been a great success since its launch in 2006. If it is found that the Wii video game was made with infringed technology, the ITC has the power to bar the game from the US. |
| 11/11/2008 | Posted in: Intellectual Property and Patents |
 In an application to the High Court to enforce an order of the Supreme Court of Appeal, it was successfully argued on behalf of the first, second and third respondents, who are our clients, that the proceedings to enforce the order should be stayed until the determination of a pending review application. The order of the Supreme Court of Appeal interdicts one of the respondents from infringing a registered design. The pending review application was instituted by another of the respondents. |
| 6/11/2008 | Posted in: Intellectual Property and Registered Designs |
 The High Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division) has ruled in favour of Lacoste in a case involving alleged counterfeit goods and the use of a “REPTILE” device which was contended to infringe its well-known registered CROCODILE device. Judgment was handed down on 30 September 2008 in Lacoste S.A. (formerly La Chemise Lacoste) vs Long Chang Trading CC, TPD case number 29835/05. |
| 13/10/2008 | Posted in: Trade Marks and Intellectual Property |
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The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.
