Cancelled Sale, Damaged Property. Who Pays?
“You do not mend a broken vase by handing over a new one.” (Anonymous) When a property sale is cancelled, most people picture a straightforward reset. The seller keeps the property, the purchaser gets the money back, and everyone walks away as if the deal never happened. The law calls this restitutio in integrum, and […]
Dodgy Deck: When a Property Defect is Your Problem, Not the Seller’s
“The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller not one.” (George Herbert) A Marina Da Gama property. A collapsed wooden deck. A purchase price of R1.55 million and repair costs claimed of just over R100 000. The facts are not complicated. But the legal battle that followed lasted more than a decade. What happened The […]
Prescription, Procrastination, and Personal Liability for Corporate Debts
“I have heard that in war, haste can be folly, but have never seen delay that was wise.” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War) Collecting debt from a recalcitrant debtor can feel very much like going to war, particularly if you have to slog through the trenches of a series of increasingly costly court battles. […]
Hamburger From Hell Takes a Bite out of Restaurant’s Profits & Reputation
Imagine tucking into a delicious hamburger at your favourite restaurant, only to suddenly feel a sharp pain in your throat and realise that something awful is stuck there. The next five days are a nightmare of fear, pain, hospital beds and unsuccessful operations. That’s exactly what happened to an unfortunate diner who sued a Stellenbosch […]
Revenge Posting and a Fake Facebook Profile – Online Defamation Costs a Couple R3.55m
“The scariest thing about digital abuse is how a victim can never know how far it went, how many people it reached, and how much those who saw it bought it.” (Psychology Today) Our laws are always protective of our rights to privacy and dignity, and a recent High Court decision confirms that defamation can […]
The pothole plague – Claiming damages
“If cars are required to be roadworthy, shouldn’t roads be required to be car-worthy?” (Online meme) If you fall victim to a pothole-infested road, don’t hesitate to sue for your losses. A recent High Court victory for a motorist claiming R8.6m in damages confirms yet again that those charged with maintaining our roads can be […]
Suing for a supermarket “Slip ‘n Trip” – What must you prove?
Tripping over aisle blockages or slipping on floors made slick by spillages can happen in even the best-managed supermarkets, and injured shoppers regularly turn to our courts to claim damages from shopkeepers and building owners. It’s no surprise therefore that this sort of claim has its own (informal) name – the “slip ‘n trip” case. […]
“Bad dog!” Why a husky’s owner must pay R100,000 damages
Owning a pet comes with both joys and responsibilities, and a recent High Court award of almost R100,000 in damages to the victim of a dog attack is yet another reminder of the potential dangers of animal ownership and the legal responsibilities that come with it. A social invite goes horribly wrong 17 years old […]