What is going on in Mpumalanga?

Last year had the implementation of our new High Court Practice Directive here in Mpumalanga.

While it is true that this new practice directive was issued to implement the new Rule 37A of the High Court Rules it is clear that this directive was issued in response to something that the Judges did not like.

"What things do our Judges not like?" you may ask. Well- the things in particular to which our practice directive was a drastic response appears to be the following:

- Parties showing up on the date of trial only to say that they are unable to proceed;

- Parties reaching a settlement on the date of trial (I still don't get why an unexpected early end to a matter annoys a Judge so much...)

- Files that are not indexed and paginated

- Applicants and Plaintiffs getting judgments and orders by default (As you will see later herein- if you are the one instituting legal proceedings against somebody else- our High Court does not like you at all. I reckon that it is because they know that the work that they end up having to do originates from you. Ironically enough, however, Respondents and Defendants get given even more time to delay matters and to avoid liability- keeping matters on the roll for longer. I suspect that the only reason the Courts like them so much is because they are an easy way with which to punish Applicants and Plaintiffs...)

So- what has our Court done about these things with their Practice Directive?

Well... If you look at the practice directive itself it seems like it was really meant to ensure that practitioners are ready to proceed on their dates of hearing/ trial and that parties that contest proceedings merely for the sake of delaying a matter's finalisation get cut off from playing for time indefinitely. I mean- Having a case management meeting after having received a Notice of Intention to Defend to find out in advance by what dates our Defendants shall file their pleas and be ready to stand trial actually sounds like a good thing for the Plaintiff, right...?

Yes- that is the beauty of the whole thing on paper.

What nobody has bothered to put in writing was that after having received the Notice of Intention to Defend the date for that case management meeting is a month away. Yes! A month away!

So- In the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court of South Africa our Court has actually sanctioned a measure that automatically delays any defended matter before it with a month or more- as if a Notice of Intention to Defend does not already afford a debtor enough time to avoid you getting judgment against him!

So- If you owe anyone more than R 400 000.00 or cause anyone damages exceeding this amount- be sure to get sued here in Mpumalanga!

Well...

Our High Court was dismayed to find that the attorneys in our province had soon accepted the new status quo and had become adept at filling out the forms required by the Directive. This had led to the Judges having to face large numbers of attorneys in the mornings (not too early, though, as our Judges still make them wait until about 11h00 as with their normal motion court days) and they ended up having splitting headaches by lunchtime.

So- something had to be done. And indeed- something was done-

The forms were amended with immediate effect, regardless of when legal proceedings have been instituted.

So... those pesky attorneys were kept occupied with the filling out of the new forms and (tsk! tsk!) some would now even have to postpone their case management hearings- hopefully leaving the courtroom emptier and enabling the Judge to return to the tranquil bliss of his/ her office much earlier.

Litigants in Gauteng and other provinces will have no idea what I am talking about. No Judge in their jurisdiction has ever felt the need to keep matters on the roll for a while longer in order to look busy. They manage to be busy even when all matters before them get finalised in record time!

So- what lies ahead for us? Will our Judges change their minds when the Court's case load has grown large enough to make them more eager to see them getting finalised than dragged out indefinitely for the sake of looking busy for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development? Somehow I think the probability is that they will rather find a way to make the Court less accessible to limit their workload...

So- If you have to approach the High Court- good luck to you!

If you want to get divorced here in Mpumalanga- try your best to get it done in the Regional Court! 

  

Best wishes for 2020- Another great year to serve

A warm hello to all clients and readers of this blog.

I hope that you have all managed to at least find some way to end the previous year and not just the previous month.

I have stayed open during this last December for the longest time I remember in this practice's history.

Now- I am at Year 4 if we count only count the full years of myself practicing for own account.

I was glad to have managed to prevent a dear old lady from being evicted from her own home in which she had been living for more than 30 years.

Last year was also the first year in which I have obtained a court order that allows a divorced mother to leave the country with her children without having to obtain the father's consent. To top it all- the order allows her to emigrate. I know of a couple of mothers who would just like to take their children across the border for a vacation...

This year, however, promises to be exciting.

Among the numerous developments in our Law the Uniform Rules of Court has gotten a new rule in terms of which a judgment can now be rescinded in the judgment creditor consents or if the judgment debt and costs are paid up.

What does this mean for you?

Well- just a year ago you were not able to get the judgment for your arrear bond payments removed from your name even when you have paid the full outstanding amount. That reason for rescinding or setting aside a judgment did not exist back then. Now, however, a judgment debt being paid- up and consent by the judgment creditor are grounds on which you can apply to get such judgments set aside.

I look forward to handling a couple of such matters.

In other news I am happy to say that I have learnt that motor vehicle financiers are not as merciless as I have initially thought them to be. I can now invite those of you who are trying to get hold of the bank when you need to make arrangements to accommodate you in your financial distress. Believe me- the result of communicating with the bank before summons is issued is a lot better than that of trying to negotiate after the court has already authorised the removal of your vehicle.

Then- although this is not the last in the list of services that I have to offer for this year- I want to remind businesses that I gladly help them recover debts owed by those entities who seem good at either hiding themselves or their assets. 

With regard to debt collections I have decided to take only 10 percent collector's commission on recovered debt payments rather than giving the client an itemised bill every month if that client gives me 10 or more debtors to handle. Although there may be some cases where I shall choose not to pursue some debtors altogether, mostly to avoid having to incur severe costs, this way of working actually saves the client more money and has a bigger likelihood of letting the client experience money coming in rather than paying more than the amount he is trying to recover.

And- with that- I wish you all a pleasant return to work and a wonderful year ahead.