‘Private’ settlement in Shaw’s R9.4m civil claim
The case in which Hilton Shaw sued the state for R9.4m has been ‘privately’ settled, says a report in The Witness. In 2009 Hilton was found guilty of his wife Susan’s murder and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, but in 2012 a full Bench of the KZN High Court set aside the verdict, ruling it was ‘probable’ that Susan committed suicide.
The following year Hilton instituted the civil claim against the KZN Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ministers of Justice and Police for alleged unlawful arrest, detention and malicious prosecution. The Witness was told this week’s out-of-court settlement – the terms of which were told to Judge Peter Olsen in his chambers – was not put in the court file as it is a ‘private and confidential’ agreement.
According to informed sources, the settlement was reached on a single aspect of Shaw’s claim and that was for unlawful detention at the stage of his four unsuccessful bail hearings. It is believed that a major part of his claim for alleged malicious prosecution was dropped.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
