Belhar housing eviction appeal set aside
An application for leave to appeal an eviction from the Belhar Housing Project has been set aside by the Western Cape High Court, with lawyers of the five occupants ordered to pay legal costs after abandoning the application.
A Cape Argus report says in an electronic judgment last week, Judge Mas-udah Pangarker ordered the application for leave to appeal to be set aside with costs.
He said the application was unnecessary to begin with, as the group had conceded and agreed to the terms and conditions of the eviction order granted last year.
Pangarker ordered that Sean le Roux of Le Roux and Associates pay the costs which include all wasted costs and preparation, and costs of senior counsel. The matter follows the eviction order granted by Pangarker in September 2024, between the occupants and the City of Cape Town.
The applicants, namely the occupants, had accepted the judgment and the receiving of emergency housing kits.
Pangarker said a question arose over whether an application of withdrawal had been received and confirmed that it had been abandoned, notes the Cape Argus report.
He said the group’s legal counsel had persuaded them to pursue an appeal when it was not possible and did not prepare or file documentation and often stayed away from proceedings.
‘I can therefore only conclude that Mr Le Roux advised these five applicants not only that they could apply for leave to appeal the judgment and orders but that the law allowed them to do so. However, nothing could be further from the truth because in circumstances such as those which prevailed after the judgment and orders, the applicants were pre-empted from appealing because they had acquiesced in the judgment and I say this for the reasons set out below,’ said Pangarker.
‘Mr Le Roux should have known that the advice he gave the applicants to launch an application for leave to appeal was legally impermissible given that the clients had already – by virtue of their conduct in accepting the housing kits and intending to vacate the Pentech units – acquiesced in the judgment. The applicants had all along abided by the judgment until Mr Le Roux took over the matter on their behalf.’
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.
