Legal Articles and Guides

Giving courts the power to declare directors delinquent was introduced in section 162 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 as amended in 2011 as part of the overhaul of SA’s corporate law regime.

In a report that purports to expose what it terms the 'dark underbelly of the business rescue industry', Moneyweb says a recent Section 417 investigation – an inquiry aimed at discovering whether assets were stripped or looted – into the events leading up to the liquidation of the Benoni-based crane supplier, Harrison and White Investments (H&W), has revealed the extent to which business rescue proceedings can be abused to the detriment of creditors.

A chartered accountant has found himself on the wrong side of the law because of questionable ethics and conduct. Phumlani Zwane’s protracted legal fight with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has been brought to an end by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), which has declared him a delinquent director twice over, says a Daily Maverick report.

Convicted murderer Jason Rohde will urgently apply for bail this week so that he can deal with a hostile business partner who is a threat to the financial security of his daughters. ‘I respectfully submit that in the interests of justice I am permitted bail to afford me the opportunity to generate income and maintain my children financially, and of course, afford them emotional support,’ he stated in his application filed in the Western Cape High Court last week.

Steinhoff is claiming R870m from former CEO Markus Jooste and an additional R272m from former CFO Ben la Grange for 'unjustified enrichment', according to a summons filed in the Western Cape High Court.

Peter Moyo plans to launch a lawsuit against his former employer Old Mutual after he was fired as the CEO of the insurer over an alleged conflict of interest, his lawyer said yesterday, according to a Business Day report.

A company’s directors have both the power and the duty to manage the company’s affairs for its benefit. When two or more directors are in place, it’s perhaps natural for the occasional disagreement to arise between them. Indeed, regular expression of a variety of different viewpoints and ideas can make for a strong, dynamic board and business. Provided, that is, that the directors are in the end result still able to agree on the decisions vital to their company’s continued operations.

A family feud and legal spat between the co-directors of the Summerstrand Hotel in Port Elizabeth have resulted in one of the siblings being declared a delinquent director and removed as a director from the companies they inherited from their father.

Another massive sale of assets belonging to Gupta-owned Shiva Uranium is on the cards as the battle between the company’s current and former business rescue practitioners heads to the SCA, says a report on the IoL site.

The Progressive Professionals Forum (PPF) has called for the Special Investigating Unit to probe troubled global retailer Steinhoff International in light of the latest revelations of corruption, notes a Polity report. An investigative report by audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that a small group of former Steinhoff executives inflated the profit and asset values of the company for years by more than R100bn.

Liquidators are once again back in charge of the affairs of the African Global Operations group of companies. A TimesLIVE report notes this follows an order made by the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) on Wednesday, granting liquidator Murray Cloete leave to appeal to the SCA against the 14 March judgment by the High Court.

Moneyweb plans to report what it says is a contravention of the Companies Act by AYO Technology Solutions to the JSE following its failure to get a response from AYO to its request for access to the company’s share register in terms of section 26 of the Companies Act. A report on the Moneyweb site says AYO’s failure to respond begs the question, what does it have to hide?

The case that is expected to set a precedent on whether shareholders can sue directors and auditors of companies under the new Companies Act is headed for the SCA, says a Business Day report. On Friday, Judge Letty Molopa-Sethosa, of the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), granted African Bank Investments (Abil) BEE shareholders – Hlumisa Investment Holdings and Eyomhlaba Investment Holdings – leave to appeal her judgment in the SCA.

Pepkor has gone to court to interdict the opening of a rival retailer, Mr Tekkie, started by former senior employees of its own brand, Tekkie Town, Die Burger reports. Pepkor says in its urgent application filed in the Western Cape High Court that it managed to recover deleted e-mails of former exective and Tekkie Town founder Braam van Huyssteen, allegedly proving a plot to influence Pepkor’s share price.

An acknowledgement of debt (“AOD”) is when a debtor admits his debt responsibilities. The debtor admits that he be indebted a sum of money to the creditor and accepts to reimburse the amount on terms agreed upon amongst the parties involved.