In the previous article in this series, we explored the legal nature of settlement agreements with reference to their status and enforceability in our law.

It is no secret that litigating can be a very long and arduous process. One of the major causes for delay is the severe backlogs the Judiciary faces. On 9 March 2020, Rule 41A of the Uniform Rules of Court came into effect in an attempt to alleviate these backlogs by encouraging parties to settle their disputes, rather than to engage in expensive and protracted litigation proceedings.

“Irregular”, “wilful misconduct” and “recklessness” were just some of the recurring terms used in the judgment handed down by Honourable Judge Ronel Tolmay of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria recently (27 May 2020) following an application launched against the former non-executive chairperson of South African Airways (“SAA”), Dudu Myeni.

Aside from a meticulously thought out seating plan for guests, couples are faced with many decisions leading up to their wedding day, one of these being the daunting and sobering task of deciding whether to enter into an antenuptial contract (“ANC”).

People are often afraid of going to lawyers. The sad reality is that the profession often has negative connotations, and sometimes for good reason. I’ve personally inherited clients that have been through the wash with other lawyers; being charged astronomical rates for very little value in return, being provided with terrible advice, poor service and left with nothing other than a hefty bill to attend to.

As we are all aware by now, it appears that the man who works for Eskom that switches our power on and off has returned from leave, with loadshedding having been reimplemented as of the first week of January 2020.

In a recent judgment handed down by the Johannesburg High Court where an 8-ton truck passed by a cyclist and its wind-rush and tail-end vortex caused the cyclist to fall and be injured, the court found that a motorist has certain duties when overtaking a cyclist.

On 18 September 2018 the Constitutional Court ordered that the use, cultivation and possession of cannabis by an adult in a private space, for personal consumption in private, is no longer a criminal offence.