The Leo Chetty Group – the owner of private higher education institutions Damelin, City Varsity, Icesa and Lyceum College – is closer to being liquidated.

A Business Day report says this is after it lost its leave to appeal against the decision of the KZN High Court (Durban) that Nedbank might proceed with legal action without handing over documents sought by the company.

The court found that the company did not present compelling arguments that a different court would find in its favour.

At the heart of the dispute is Leo Chetty Group’s application, which tried to get Nedbank to reveal certain information to it.

The information it sought to gain access to include Nedbank’s internal communication, to prove that an oral loan restructuring agreement was entered into by the parties.

‘Liquidation proceedings are inherently urgent. They do not, or ought not to, move at the ordinary pace that actions do, or even as other types of applications do. Liquidation applications are intended to be considered and finalised swiftly because they may involve an entity trading in insolvent circumstances to the prejudice of the general body of its creditors and unknowing members of the public,’ the court found in dismissing the application for leave to appeal.

‘Relevance is a material consideration when issues of discovery are considered. In any event, the deponent on behalf of the applicant has stated that the documents sought by the respondent do not exist. I cannot order the production of that which does not exist and there is no basis for me to question the assertion of the deponent.’

The report notes the decision opens the door for Nedbank to pursue its liquidation application.

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Judgment