Legal Articles and Guides

A KZN North Coast homeowner faces a legal bill running into ‘many hundreds of thousands of rands’ after losing several court battles over levy arrears of only R8 800, says a report in The Mercury. The six-year dispute between the body corporate of Crystal Cove in La Mercy and pensioner Krishna Padachie ended last week when the SCA dismissed his final bid to overturn a ruling by an arbitrator that he owed the money.

The Minister of Justice will be asked to intervene in the heated row over transformation at the Cape Bar as activist organisation Advocates for Transformation prepares to stall the appointment of the Cape’s new silks, says a Weekend Argus report. Western Cape AFT chair Greg Papier said AFT would write to Michael Masutha and urge him to delay the appointments until issues around the constitution of the Cape Bar Council (CBC) have been resolved.

Having fled SA in March, embattled father and son lawyers Ronald and Darren Bobroff appear to be settling down for the long haul in Australia, after recently purchasing a R26m house in Sydney, says a Cape Times report. The father and son quickly sold their law firm, Ronald Bobroff & Partners, allegedly after receiving a tip-off that the duo were going to be arrested on money-laundering charges involving tens of millions.

The Western Cape High Court has overturned an R11.6m award for loss of earnings after a hit-and-run accident, according to a report in The Times. It agreed with the Road Accident Fund that the award should be scrapped, saying Glenn Bee (65) had not lost earnings because the company he ran with his brother had not stopped paying him his half of the profits.

If one happens to be a student protester with some access to legal representation, one enjoys immense protection against potential authoritarian abuse by the state because of the Constitution, says Pierre de Vos. In an analysis on his Constitutionally Speaking blog, he points out that Section 17 of the Bill of Rights states that ‘everyone has the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket and to present petitions’.

The Women’s Legal Centre Trust is adamant it wants the Muslim Marriages Bill made into law, despite counter-arguments by respondents – President Jacob Zuma, Parliament, the Departments of Home Affairs, Justice and Correctional Services – to have the case in the Western Cape High Court dismissed, says a Cape Times report.

A single mother of three children who admitted stealing more than R400 000 from her employer has won the first fight in her battle to stay out of prison, notes a TimesLIVE report. Moshina Essop was sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court to 10 years' imprisonment but only half the sentence was suspended‚ and yesterday the SCA gave her permission to appeal to the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg).

Two of the country’s nine Regional Court Presidents remain in their posts despite allegations of corruption and fraud levelled last year, according to Rapport. In the case of the KZN incumbent, Eric Nzimande, he is accused of offering an acting job to a magistrate in exchange for cash and even sexual favours. In the other case, the president allegedly claimed R65 000 for travel allowances. Yet she is still serving on the Ethics Committee of the Magistrates' Commission.

The Eastern Cape High Court (East London) was meant to hear the rape and murder case of Sakhumzi Mhlamvana, a matter set down for the whole week before Judge Lusindiso Pakade (68). But The Herald reports after waiting for hours yesterday for the judge to arrive, officials were finally told that he had resigned.

The case against former Advocate Karabo Tau (39) was postponed in the Bloemfontein Magistrate"s Court to 14 September. A News24 says Tau faces charges of corruption, extortion, impersonating an advocate, and conspiracy to commit an offence. He was arrested in Bloemfontein last week after he was allegedly approached by the families of nine people found guilty of the theft of diesel and racketeering.

Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) Deputy Judge-President Phineas Mojapelo handed down a seminal contingency fees judgment this week, clarifying precisely how a legal practitioner"s success fee should be calculated and whether VAT was payable by the client or by the attorney, reports Tony Beamish for Moneyweb.

The Constitutional Court has reminded the Pretoria Society of Advocates of its duty to both the public and the courts to take appropriate steps to stop a struck-off advocate from continuing to practise, notes Daily News. It made the comment in a unanimous judgment handed down yesterday (Thursday) in the case of Ralph Patrick Ndleve, who had approached the court for a fifth time " his first four applications had been dismissed " in a bid to have his striking-off for malpractice and theft set aside.

President Jacob Zuma has filed his replying affidavit to the SCA in his bid to challenge the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruling that he should face corruption charges, says a News24 report. In June, the High Court dismissed Zuma's leave to appeal its corruption decision. The NPA and Zuma"s lawyers are seeking leave to appeal the ruling, on 29 April, that the decision to discontinue the prosecution against Zuma on 783 corruption charges be set aside.

Access to justice is an ongoing battle for women and children from disadvantaged communities, and free legal advice may make things a little easier. A report on the IoL site notes that as part of the annual Access to Justice week, 60 attorneys have joined the Department of Justice in offering free legal advice to the public at various centres throughout the country.

Whether you are young or old, healthy or ill, single or attached, you should have a Will. Without one, you die “intestate”, which means you forfeit your right to decide who inherits what, who administers and distributes your estate, and who looks after your children and their money. You owe it to your loved ones to spare them the inevitable financial and personal ri