For decades, South African law used the husband’s legal home at the time of marriage to decide which country’s law governed a couple’s financial and property rights when they had ties to more than one country. A recent Western Cape High Court judgment declared that rule unconstitutional and introduced a gender-neutral framework for deciding which country’s law applies.
Law
In most cases hitting a pothole results in a damaged tyre or wheel. For one unfortunate motorcyclist who hit a 60cm behemoth near George, it meant losing a leg. The High Court held the Department of Infrastructure liable for his damages, finding that the roads authority had failed to detect, repair or warn road users about a dangerous defect it knew, or should have known, about.
Home security cameras are increasingly common, but protecting your property does not give you an unrestricted right to monitor your neighbours.
The “Whistleblower’s Act”, formally known as the Protected Disclosures Act, encourages employees to expose corruption, criminal activity and other wrongdoing in the workplace.
Paying rent under a residential lease does not automatically make you a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act. A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision shows that the real question is whether the landlord is letting property in the ordinary course of business.
When a trust’s founder dies, families often assume that whatever they said they wanted will be honoured, even if the trust deed was never changed to reflect it.
When a sale falls through, most people assume restitution means simply giving back the money and the property. A recent High Court decision shows it is rarely that straightforward, particularly if the property itself has changed in the interim.
Trusts remain a valuable estate planning and asset protection tool, but they also carry ongoing compliance obligations.
"All’s fair in love and war, but not in business." (Modern twist on the old proverb)
As mental capacity declines, families are often confronted with difficult legal and financial decisions. Many are surprised to learn that a Power of Attorney may no longer be valid.