Bregman Attorneys

Due to the expanding role that attorneys play in their client’s businesses today and the general proliferation of documentation, it is necessary for businessmen to understand the extent to which such documented communications are protected, or "privileged",

A choice of South African law as the proper law of the agreement is enough evidence of an intention to consent to South African jurisdiction.

If you sign an indemnity before an operation, are the hospital, doctors or staff liable if negligence occurs?

The in duplum rule as developed in our law, provides inter alia that interest due in respect of certain debts ceases to run when it reaches the amount of the unpaid capital sum.

Attorney Paul Jacobson provides a basic introduction to our civil court system.

There are two forms of legal proceedings in our civil court system: actions (“also known as ”trials“) and applications (also known as ”motion proceedings“).  Each form of proceeding follows its own rules and has a different application in civil law. 

The non-variation clauses that are found in so many contracts can have loopholes that render them useless. The end result is that your contracts can be amended informally with terrible consequences.

The Supreme Court of Appeal recently examined the distinction to be drawn between agreements concluded as a consequence of normal and acceptable economic bargaining on the one hand, and unconscionable and unlawful duress on the other hand.

There has been much debate in the past about the meaning and effect of the in duplum rule. Any uncertainty has been clarified by a recent judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal, delivered in September 2005 in the matter of Ethekwini Municipality v Verulam Medicentre (Pty) Ltd.

The courts may permit a one-person company to be represented at a court hearing by its alter ego. However it must be stressed that this will only be the case if exceptional circumstances exist.

A Canadian court found Drake International liable in damages for not properly screening a candidate that turned out to have a history of fraudulent activities. This case serves a clear reminder to placement agencies of their obligations and potential liabilities in referring candidates to their clients. In addition to their contractual obligations, such agencies must adhere to a reasonable standard of care in performing their duties or face damages under tort (delict or damages) law. The decision also serves to remind employers of their exposure to potential liabilities for misrepresenting former employees to employers during reference checks. The same position would apply in South Africa.

Proprietors of liquor businesses should take heed of a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal reported in the case of Hitler Adolf Klokow v Michael Boyton Sullivan.

This articles discusses a Supreme Court of Appeal judgment in relation to various tests courts use to determine whether a particular risk should have been disclosed to the patient.

Increasingly, clients are asking whether law firms address their business needs for speed, efficiency, risk-reduction and cost containment. In particular, they doubt whether the litigation service offered by the traditional law firm delivers the kind of outcomes which today’s business requires

It can now be accepted that sales of "letting enterprises" do not have to be advertised in terms of Section 34 of the Act.

The Promotion of Access to Information Act No. 2 of 2000 ("the Information Act") has already received much attention from our courts. In a recent unreported judgment in the Witwatersrand Local Division, further principles concerning the manner in which information may be requested and refused were elucidated by the court.

The law of defamation aims to protect a person’s right to an unimpaired reputation. But the history of defamation law reveals a sober warning to defamation plaintiffs: institute defamation proceedings at your peril.

Whether or not a court will enforce an agreement in restraint of trade is case-specific. The court must balance the importance of ensuring that contracts are enforced when they are freely and willingly entered into against the right of every person to choose his or her trade, occupation or profession without hindrance.

There have been a number of high profile corporate nose-dives recently (Tollgate, Leisurenet and Fidentia), with hefty jail time being handed out to directors or officials who have run their business recklessly or fraudulently. These big cases has caught the attention of the media, but what about smaller companies that are run into the ground by the recklessness or fraud of their owners?

When faced with the prospect of being implicated in a story by an investigative journalist, many influential business people instruct their lawyers to urgently apply to court to prevent the publication of the story. Generally such applications for an interdict are ill-advised, because our courts approach attempts to restrain publication with caution.

A judgment against a surety prescribes only after 30 years

Letseng Diamonds was a shareholder in JCI Ltd. It tried, unsuccessfully to set aside an agreement concluded between JCI Ltd and Investec Bank Ltd.

To avoid having to go to court in the event of a dispute, contracts with your suppliers, etc, should contain a deadlock clause

A Pretoria High Court judge says marriage is still a sacred institution and instituting a damages claim by an aggrieved spouse as a result of adultery is not outdated

In Wessels v Pretorius 2007 JDR 0861 (SCA) the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) dealt with the negligence and personal liability of a father who had permitted his minor son to use his motor vehicle.

If a debtor owes you money and doesn’t pay how do you go about recovering the amount due?

Both the Close Corporations Act and the Companies Act have similar provisions that grant a court power to attach personal liability for the debts of a corporation or company to its members or directors if they are knowingly party to reckless or fraudulent trading by the corporation or company.

Can one party in a marriage in community of property bind the joint estate without the consent of the other party to the marriage?

If you are an individual and have a claim under R7 000 then you should sue out of this court

Landlords should carefully check their mortgage agreements on both commercial and residential properties. If they contain a cession of rentals they need to obtain the bank’s permission before they may sue for unpaid rentals.

Liability imputed to one person for the actions of another, where the law contemplates that the other should be held responsible for a wrong in fact committed by someone else.

There is a duty on parties to a dispute to attempt to mediate the dispute and an obligation on opposing attorneys to encourage mediation, before litigation commences

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has amended the Magistrates’ Courts Act of 1944 giving powers to Regional Courts to deal with civil cases. President Jacob Zuma announced the commencement of the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act which came into effect on 9th August 2010, the National Women’s Day.

As China is not a signatory to The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, it is not bound by procedures to expedite child custody cases across state lines.

Are class actions a part of the South African legal landscape?

A trading corporation has an interest in its reputation that requires legal protection

A recent decision confirmed that members of a Close Corporation will be personally liable for the debts of the CC that remain unpaid at the time of deregistration of the CC: Edward Street Property Investments CC v Lambrechts and Others (3657/07) [2010] ZAWCHC 218 (1 December 2010)

A child becomes a major in the eyes of our law when he or she turns 18. When can a minor (a child under 18) be liable for contracts that he or she enters into?