Who is held responsible for payments lost due to cybercrime?

This is exactly what happened in Fourie v Van der Spuy and De Jongh Inc. and others. The First Respondent was a law firm and the Second and Third Respondents were practising Attorneys. The Applicant claimed payment of R1 744 599.45 from the Respondents. The First Respondent had a mandate to deal with money paid […]

Private prosecution: Is justice attainable even if the state fails us?

Members of the public, and specifically victims or those close to them, are often disheartened by the National Prosecuting Authority (“NPA”) and its decisions not to prosecute persons who have allegedly committed a criminal offence. The Criminal Procedure Act (“the CPA”), however, contains two sections that can be relied on to bypass the NPA, by […]

Is it time to say goodbye to your business?

South Africa has been experiencing very slow economic growth and international rating agencies have subsequently downgraded South Africa’s investment outlook to “junk status”. This, and a myriad of other factors, have negatively impacted South African businesses, especially small and medium business enterprises. Many of these struggling enterprises are now at a crossroads: do they continue […]

Do annuities form part of the estate during a divorce?

In the case of CM v EM it was held in the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa (“SCA”), case number 10861/2018, that: “The value of the Respondent’s right to future annuity payments in respect of Personal Portfolio Living Annuities (“the living annuities”) from Glacier Financial Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a member of the Sanlam Group, is […]

My tenant failed to pay rent: Can I kick him out?

If your tenant has failed to pay his or her rent, it can be tempting to simply kick them out yourself and change the locks. However, do so would be considered illegal, even if the tenant has become an illegal occupant. The reason is because of the PIE Act. In sum, the Prevention of Illegal […]