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February 2018 Newsletter

Security Estates: Are Your Rules Enforceable?

Buying into any form of community scheme means binding yourself to comply with all the scheme’s rules and regulations. Read and understand these rules before you buy - our courts will usually hold you to them.

But not all rules are legally enforceable, and there’s a strong warning for security estates in a recent High Court case where estate speed limits and restrictions on the movement of domestic employees were challenged and found wanting.


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Employees be Warned! A Conflict of Interest Can Get You Dismissed

Dismissal from employment is a drastic remedy, and not lightly upheld by our courts.  But where an employee breaches his/her general duty to act loyally, honestly and in their employers’ best interests, it’s certainly on the table.

We discuss a case in which a municipal employee with 29 years of service was found guilty of a conflict of interest involving his wife’s and brother’s business links to the municipality.  His fate is a timely warning to employees to follow Benjamin Franklin’s advice that “honesty is the best policy”.


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Don’t Lose Your Claim to Prescription - Know the Law!

Delay suing your debtor for too long and you lose your right to claim forever.  That’s the practical effect of our law of prescription, and it’s like throwing money away.  It’s also totally avoidable.

But what if you didn’t know you had a claim in the first place?  A recent judgment from the highest court in the land – our Constitutional Court – warns that what counts is whether your lack of knowledge is a case of factual ignorance, or a case of ignorance of the law.  It’s the source of your ignorance that counts; and not managing that can cost you a lot of money…


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Trustees: Your Risk of Personal Liability in Property Sales

Let’s look at a recent High Court case in which a property seller sued a trustee personally for R2m. The trustee, it turned out, had no authority to sign the sale agreement alone, causing the sale to collapse.

What steps should trustees take to protect themselves from personal liability, and what steps should sellers and buyers take to protect their positions when contracting with trusts?  

Read on for the answers…


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Your Website of the Month: Timing is Everything

In both our business and our personal lives, timing is everything.

But how exactly do we time everything we do for maximum effectiveness? When is the best time of day to be creative, to make decisions, to analyse, to negotiate deals? When are we at our most productive?  When are our roads at their most dangerous?  What’s the ideal age for marriage?

Here’s a blog post discussing the scientific answers to these and other vital life questions…  


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Disclaimer
The information and material published on this website is provided for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult one of our lawyers on any specific legal problem or matter. We accept no responsibility for any loss or damage, whether direct or consequential, which may arise from reliance on the information contained in these pages.

Smith Bekwa Incorporated Attorneys
6th Floor, Surrey Place 291 Surrey Avenue Ferndale, Johannesburg
Tel: 011 462 7842 / 011 704 2802



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