In Auditor-General of South Africa v Accounting Officer of Gateway Airports Authority (Ltd) and Another [2022] JOL 54182 (LP), whether the claim in the default judgment was for ‘a debt’ or a for a ‘liquidated demand’.

In Ndevu and Another v Westonaria South Property Holding (Pty) Ltd t/a Westonaria South and Others [2022] JOL 53978 (GP), urgent application for stay of execution, clear right was established that an irreparable harm will result.

In Deltamune (Pty) Ltd and Others v Tiger Brands Limited and Others [2022] 2 All SA 26 (SCA), the requirements of relevance (necessary and appropriate) and specificity (material facts) when issuing subpoenas.

In Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa and Another v Van den Berg and Others [2022] 1 All SA 457 (FB), appeal dismissed on grounds of being diffuse and ambiguous, leave may now only be granted if there is a reasonable prospect that the appeal will succeed.

In Body Corporate of Nautica v Mispha CC [2022] 1 All SA 399 (WCC), defendant refused to pay levies without justification, Body Corporate has locus standi to institute action, in duplum rule permits interest to run anew from the date that the judgment debt is due and payable.

In Brentmark (Pty) Ltd and Another v Puma Energy South Africa (Pty) Ltd [2021] 4 All SA 106 (WCC), delictual damages for pure economic loss caused to a plaintiff by defendant’s alleged causal negligence. No established legal precedent for the claim asserted, but conduct fell short of the standards of decency and fairness that informs the substantive law of contract.

In Gigaba (born Mngoma) v Minister of Police and Others [2021] 3 All SA 495 (GP), Uniform Rules - urgency. Lawfulness - when a warrant of arrest is requested under the pretext that it is being acquired for a legitimate purpose while in fact the intention is not so, it is unlawful.

In Democratic Alliance v Brummer [2021] 2 All SA 818 (WCC), a party seeking to rely on the defence of res judicata must allege and prove all the elements underlying the defence. It is unjust and inequitable to uphold a special plea of issue estoppel if respondent denied opportunity to litigate

In Helen Suzman Foundation v McBride and Others [2021] 2 All SA 727 (SCA), amici have a rightful role to play provided their participation is kept within appropriate bounds and they don’t depart from the basis on which they seek to be admitted.

In Trustees for the Time Being of the Burmilla Trust and Another v President of the Republic of South Africa and Another [2021] 1 All SA 578 (GP) the plaintiffs’ claim was for constitutional damages, said to arise from the drastic curtailment of jurisdiction and capacity (shuttering) of an international tribunal, before which the plaintiffs and others had a case pending against the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The proliferation of electronic documents makes electronic discovery imperative for the legal and corporate world, and mishandling such documents could spell danger for the success of your case.This was the overarching sentiment shared during the virtual launch on 30 March 2021 of Africa’s first legal text on eDiscovery, entitled A Guide to eDiscovery in South Africa.

From the review: "Purchase this manual, read and use it. It will only enhance your drafting skills set to which you can be proud of and which will impress your colleagues and clients."

The world is awash with data and has officially entered the Zettabyte era[1].  Hundreds of billions of emails are sent/received on a daily basis and it has been calculated that more than 97% of business documents are created electronically. South Africa is not immune nor exempt from the digital revolution.  In short, the very nature of what constitutes information and documentary evidence, types and sources, and how they are dealt with has changed.

As we well know, the volume of data being generated is growing rapidly. eDiscovery involves almost all information capable of being stored electronically, across multiple formats. It is not limited to conventional formats such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and email. It includes text messages, social media interactions on WhatsApp, Twitter, Skype and Zoom meetings. Add in LinkedIn, FaceBook and Google searches. In short it is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in a litigation case or investigation.

Using precedents for the drafting of pleadings has become a standard practice that results in delays and increased cost of litigation. Drafting needs to be logical, rational and offer a clear representation of the client’s specific case.