PVL301-W 1

CONTRACT LAW CASE SUMMARIES

Saambou- Nasionale Bouvereniging v Friedman

Facts
 Respondent handed a cheque drawn in favour of Appellant to W to buy shares in the
Appellant for the respondent’s wife.
 Cheque fell into the hands of an unknown person who, pretending to be the
respondent, handed it to appellant as payment for shares which were issued to 3
persons who were complete strangers to respondent
 The respondent stopped the payment of the cheque and was sued on it by the
appellant
 Respondents defence was that the appellant gave no value or valuable consideration
in respect of the cheque and the respondent did not become a party to the cheque for
any cause which could found an action on contract or agreement
Legal Question
 Was there a valid agreement between the respondent and the appellant to the effect
that appellant could apply the cheque as payment for the shares issued to the 3
strangers?
Finding:
 No such agreement existed
Rationale
 Appellant contracted with the person who pretended to be the respondent and not with
the respondent
 Respondent wasn’t in fact involved in the matter, therefore, no agreement between the
respondent and the appellant as to how the cheque was to be applied which meant that
no valid primary agreement came into existence to provide the iustu causa required for
a valid and enforceable contract
Note:
 There could not have been a contract between the parties no matter which theory
regarding the basis of a contract is accepted

Vasco Dry Cleaners v Twycross

Facts
 Carides (VDC) sold business to Air Capricorn
 Ownership of machinery would only pass on payment of full purchase price
 AC later needed financial assistance to pay the balance of the purchase price and
entered into an arrangement with Twycross, in terms of which Twycross paid off
Carides and AC sold and delivered the machinery to Twycross
 Twycross then resold the machinery to AC but subject to the condition that ownership
of the machinery would only pass to AC once Twycross was paid
 Before paying Twycross, AC was again in financial troubles and sold VDC plus the
machinery to Butcher
 When negotiating this sale AC guaranteed that it was the owner of the machinery
 Butcher ran the business as VDC, AC subsequently failed to pay Twycross who
instituted rei vindication against VDC to reclaim his machinery
Finding
 There had not been a true sale &resale of the machinery between Twycross and AC
 Twycross had lent the money to AC which lam was secured by a pledge if the
machinery
 Ownership of the machinery had therefore not passed to Twycross who could not
succeed with a rei vindication
PVL301-W 2
Note
 The contract of sale& resale between Twycross and AC was not their true intention.
Their true intention was to effect a pledge of the machinery
 To reach consensus it is essential that the parties actually intend to create an
obligation
 Law looks at their true intention not their simulated intention

Bloom v The American Swiss Watch Company

Facts
 Bloom claimed a reward in terms of a notice published by ASW promising a reward to
any one providing information which lead to the arrest of the thieves and recovery of
jewelry stolen
 Bloom gave the information BEFORE he became aware of the notice
Finding and Rationale
 He therefore, did not furnish the information in response to the notice and could not
therefore, be said to have accepted ASW’s offer to pay a reward
 Thus, no contract came into being between Bloom and ASW and therefore, no basis on
which he could claim the reward
Note
 Parties who agree must be aware of their agreement
National and Overseas Distributors Corporation (Pty) Ltd v Potato Board
Facts of the Case
 The Respondent [the potato Board] mistakenly accepted a tender of the Appellant for
the erection of a Steel shed
 The respondent had expressed in a letter to the appellant that the appellant offer to
erect the steel shed had been accepted
 This acceptance was a mistake as the Respondent had in fact intended to accept the
tender of a third-party.
Legal Question
 Was the Mistake Material???
Finding and Rationale
 The mistake was material
 The court found that the appellant was led to reasonably believe that the respondent
intended to contract with it.
 Even though the letter had incorrectly expressed the respondent's intention (so that
there was Dissensus) the court found that a contract existed because the appellant's
belief that its offer had been accepted was reasonable in the circumstances
 It related to the persons between whom obligations were to be created [content of the
obligation]
Note
 This was not a case of mistaken as to identity as the Respondent [the Potato Board]
did not mistake the Appellant for the 3rd party.

George v Fairmead (Pty) Ltd 1958 (2) SA 465 (AD)

Facts of the Case
 The Appellant argued that he had signed a hotel register whereas he had, In fact,
signed a contract containing a term excluding the Respondent from liability for certain
acts
 The Appellant was not aware of this term because he did not read the document before
signing it.
Finding of the court
PVL301-W 3
 The court found that the Appellant’s mistake related to a term which he believed would
not be in the contract.
 This mistake was material because it related to an aspect of performance.
 F was led to believe that the other party (G) agreed to a material term in a contract
because G had signed the contract and F had believed that G had read the relevant
term
 The contract was therefore valid

Allen v Sixteen Sterling Investments (Pty) Ltd 1974 (4) SA 164 (D

Facts of the Case
 The Plaintiff believed that he was purchasing the erf SHOWN to him by the seller's
agent.
 The written contract which he signed indicated the correct erf which was a completely
different property
Finding of the court (analysing the mistake)
 The mistake in this case related to performance and was thus, material

Du Toit v Atkinson’s Motors 11985 (2) SA 889 (AD)

Facts of the Case
 A party (A) signed a contract without reading it since he believed that its terms
coincided with the content of the other party’s (B) advertisement.
 However - the contract contained a further material term of which A was unaware (Vis -
a term excluding the Respondent from liability for misrepresentation.
Finding of the court
 The court found [once again] that the mistake related to an aspect of performance and
was thus material.
 The court found (as the term was material) the contract to be void.
 The court found that B (in this case) had not been misled by A into believing that he (A)
had agreed to the term because B had not drawn A’s attention to that relevant material
term.
 The court found (as the term was material) the contract to be void.

Sonap Petroleum (SA) (Pty) Ltd [formerly known as Sonarep (SA) (pty) (Ltd) v
Pappadogianis
Facts of the Case
 The contract denier entered into a contract of lease with the contract enforcer for a
period of 20 years
 The Lease was to start on a date to be specified in a certificate that the contract denier
would issue at a later stage.
 The contract denier failed to issue the certificate for about 12 years
 Instead, the contract denier prepared an addendum which the contract enforcer signed
 In the addendum [signed by the contract enforcer] the lease was reduced to 15 years
to
 The contract denier had misrepresented his intention with regard to the term of the
lease.
Finding of the court
 The court found that although the Appellant signed the addendum, it (the addendum)
clearly incorrectly expressed its (the Appellant’s) intention as to a material term. [The
material term being the period of lease which is an aspect of the performance] and its
mistake was material.
PVL301-W 4
 The court found that the Appellant was led to believe reasonably that the Respondent
intended to contract with it.
 Even though the letter had incorrectly expressed the respondent's intention (so that
there was Dissensus) the court found that a contract existed because the appellant's
belief that its offer had been accepted was reasonable in the circumstances
 Thus the Court had found:
 That the contract enforcer knew that the contract denier was acting under a mistake
with regard The term of the lease,
 That consequently the contract denier was not misled by the content of the signed
addendum
Effect
 The court found that the addendum was thus void

Steyn v LSA Motors Ltd 1994 (1) SA 49 AD

Facts of the Case
 The respondent intended to make an offer can only a certain group of people, namely
professional golfers.
 An advertising board, situated at one of the holes of that golf course offered a prize (A
motor vehicle) to the golfer who achieved a hole in one at that hole.
 The advertising board did not state that the offer was extended to professional golfers
only.
 The appellant, an amateur golfer achieved a hole in one at that hole and claimed the
prize
 Argument of appellant: that the advertising board constituted an offer which was
extended to all players and that therefore a contract had come into being when he
obtained the hole in one
Finding of the court (In respect of Mistake)
 The court found that the Respondent’s mistake related to the other party to a potential
contract [In other words-the Respondent only intended that any possible contract that
could arise would be between itself and a professional golfer]
 The court found that even if the appellant had been misled by the advertising board
that a reasonable man would not have been misled in the circumstances.
 No contract came into being
Reasoning being:
 The rules (at that time) relating to amateur golfers specified that amateur golfers are
only entitled to prizes up to a value of R 600.00
 A reasonable man would have known of this rule and would not have been misled in
the circumstances
Effect
 The mistake was deemed to be material and the contract set aside

Dickson motors v Oberholzer

Facts
 O’s son bought 2 cars on credit, Car A from Dickson motors and Car B from a 3rd party
 After exchanging car B for his fathers car the son disappeared, leaving unpaid
balances on both cars
 DM obtained judgment against the son for the unpaid balance on car A and then had
the car in O’s possession attached to satisfy the debt
 This was done on the mistaken belief that the car in O’s possession was car A but it
was actually car B
PVL301-W 5
 O paid the outstanding debt to DM to retain possession of the car, but he was under
the mistaken belief that the car in his possession was car A
 Later, the car in O’s possession was attached again, but this time by the 3 rd party,
correctly, who had sold the car to the son
 O now sued for the return of amount which he paid to DM
Appellate division
 O succeeded because the contract between O and DM is void on the ground of
common mistake

Magwaza v Heenan
Facts
 M and H concluded a written contract of sale of immovable property in which the
description of the property was so deficient that it didn’t comply with the provisions of
the Act 68 of 1957
 H claimed rectification of the contract
Appellate division
 Held that non compliance with the act resulted in the contract being void and therefore
there was nothing to rectify

Crawley v Rex
Facts
 Shopkeeper advertised sale of tobacco at reduced price
 C bought half a KG and returned immediately to buy more
 Shopkeeper refused to sell to C again
 C refused to leave the shop and was arrested for remaining unlawfully on the premises
Legal question
 C argued that he had accepted the shopkeepers offer t sell tobacco and therefore a
contract existed between C and shopkeeper
Finding
 Adverts are invitations to the public to do business and it is the client who makes an
offer to purchase, which the shopkeeper can then accept or reject

Bird v Summerville and another

Facts
 B signed a written offer to sell his house to S
 S added the name of second respondent to the document and they both signed the
document as purchasers
Finding
 AD held no contract came into existence as B’s offer had been made to S only and
could not be accepted by S together with somebody else
Note
 Generally an offer is directed at a definite person, but may also be directed at
unidentified persons
 But if offer is addresses to a specific person it may only be accepted by the specific
offeree(s)
 See Bloom case

Rex v Nel
“In contracts where there are mutual obligations notification of acceptance is necessary
before the agreement becomes binding on the parties. But it is open to the parties to
PVL301-W 6
dispense with such notification in express terms, and not only that, but such dispensation
may also be implied from the language used or from the nature of the contract"
 The information theory

Cape Explosive works v Lever brothers Ltd/ South African oil and Fat industries Ltd
Facts
 CEW is a manufacturer of glycerine
 Their place of business is in the Cape province
 They concluded 2 agreements for the purchase of glycerine- one with a company in the
Transvaal and another with a company in the Natal
Legal question
 Where had the contracts been entered into?
Finding
 The contracts had been concluded where CEW’s letter of acceptance were posted and
not where they were read
Note
 Expedition theory applied to postal contracts rather than the information theory

Smieman v Volkerz
Facts
 S lived in Pretoria and V lived in Cape Town
 V orally granted S an option to buy V’s shareholding
 The option was to be exercised by Feb 15th
 On Feb. 15th S asked his attorney’s to exercise the option on his behalf
 Gelb (the attorney, in CT) phoned V’s CT office but he was away. Gelb therefore,
posted a letter to V saying that S chose to exercise the option. Both letters delivered
after the 15th
Court held
 No contract had come into existence because the offer contained in the option had not
been accepted timeously
 There was no indication that V has waived his right to be informed on or before the 15 th
that his offer had been accepted
 Such an indication would have existed if the offer had been made by post and not
orally
Note
 Expedition theory will only be applied where an acceptance takes place by letter only if
the offer had also been made by post or if the offeror had indicated in some or other
way to the offeree to make use of the post
 This is also not an absolute rule. It could also be shown that the offeror did not intend
the expedition theory, rather information theory, to be applied

Brand v Spies
Facts
 S granted B an option to buy farm orally
 S later repudiated the option. B sued S for damages on ground of breach of contract
Court held:
 No contract existed
 Contract of sale of land had to be in writing. For a contract to be in writing, both offer
and acceptance had to be in writing
 No written offer had existed which could be accepted by B to bring about a written
contract
PVL301-W 7
Note
 The option itself does not equal a contract for sale of land therefore there is no need for
it to be in writing
 An option involves 2 contracts/parts
1. offer to buy or sell the property in question (substantive offer)
2. a contract by which the grantor of the option binds himself to the grantee to keep
the substantive offer open for a certain period of time
 the oral offer was of no force and although the option contract may be entered into
orally, there was in this case no valid offer to which such a contract could relate

Trotman v Edwick
Facts
 E bought 2 flats from Mr. and Mrs. T
 Flats enclosed by a garden wall, which also enclosed a strip of municipal land
 Mr. T, by positive act and statement indicated to E that the entire land enclosed was
part of the property sold
 When E discovers the truth he sues for damages on the ground of T intentional
misrepresentation
Court held
 Court a quo awarded him the difference between the price paid and the actual value of
the property
 The AD upheld the award
 Delictual damages awarded for fraudulent misrepresentation
Note
 Important case for approach to question of quantum of damages recoverable on
ground of fraudulent misrepresentation
 Fraudulent misrepresentation amounts to a delict and delictual damages are
recoverable
 To determine financial position of person had the misrep not occurred it is necessary to
distinguish between casual fraud (dolus dans) and incidental fraud (dolus incidens)
 Dolus dans: fraud which induces the representee to enter into a contract which he
would not have entered into at all in the absence of the misrep. The amount which
the representee’s performance exceeds the representor’s performance is awarded
 Dolus incidens: fraud which induces the representee to agree to terms to which he
would not have agreed if there had been no misrep, although he would still have
entered into the contract. The amount by which the representee’s actual
performance exceeds the performance on which he and the representor would have
agreed had there been no misrep.

De Jager v Grunder
Facts
 J and G enter into a contract of exchange which they describe as a contract of Sale
 G’s farm is exchanged for J’s 2 farms
 A value was attached to the farms to determine what cash adjustment has to be made
to equalize the performances
 The value placed on one of J’s farms was inflated by fraudulent misrep by J that there
were more trees on the farm than there actually were
 G brought action for damages- J contended that in spite of the misrep G had received
as mush as he had given and therefore suffered no loss
PVL301-W 8
Court held
 A quo and AD awarded G R15 000 damages
 If there was no misrep the valuation of the farm would have been R15 000 lower while
the value of the other 2 would have remained the same
Note
 AD reviewed this case as one of dolus incidens

Ranger v Wykerd
Facts
 R bought house from W for R22 000
 There was a swimming pool on the property which W claimed to be structurally sound
although she knew it leaked
 R then had to have the pool repaired after he took transfer of the house and discovered
the fault. He claimed damages as a result of the fraudulent misrep.
Court held:
 AD held R had proved loss due to repairing the pool
 This amount of damages could be arrived at in 1 of 2 ways:
1. value of the property less R had paid for it (casual fraud)
2. by accepting that if there had been no misrep the parties would have agreed on a
purchase price lower than what he initially paid for it (incidental fraud)

Bayer South Africa v Frost

Facts
 F was a wine farmer who also grew wheat and onions
 The wheat and onions were planted next to the vineyards. Vineyards have to be
weeded annually during off season
 A rep of Bayer told F that weeding could be done more efficiently and cheaply by
spraying the vineyards by helicopter with weed-killer developed by Bayer
 The weed killer wouldn’t harm the vineyards but would destroy the wheat and onions
 Rep negligently led F to believe that the spraying could be controlled
 F acted on this misrep and a large strip of wheat and onions was destroyed
 F was awarded R55 000 as damages as a result of the negligent misrep
Note
 AD- a delictual action for damages may be instituted where a negligent misrep induced
the conclusion of a contract as a result of which the misled party suffers damage

Phame v Paizes
Facts
 Paize’s bought Phames shareholding in a Company whose main asset was an
immovable property on which there was a shopping center
 What induced Paizes to buy the company was the income that was derived from letting
the buildings on the property
 The value of the shareholding depended on the net amount of rent which the property
produced
 Part of the expenses was the municipal rates which the Phame agent told them was
R4646
 It later emerged that the annual rates were actually R14736
 Phame them claimed an amount from Phame on the ground of the agents misrep.
 Phame then said that Paizes did not allege either a fraudulent or negligent misrep and
that no claim for damages lay on the ground of innocent misrep
Court held
PVL301-W 9
 AD dismissed this exception, deciding that action quanti minoris would lie
 Court held adelition actions do not lie on ground of innocent misrep, but they do lie on
the ground of a dictum et promissum
 action quanti minoris for reduction of purchase price and Actio Rehabilitoria for
cancellation of a contract of sale
 the agents statement about the municipal rates was such a dictum et promissum
Note
 an innocent misrep can form the basis for avoiding a contract
 for a delictual action for damages fault is a requirement therefore, innocent misrep
does not form the basis for a delictual action
 action quanti minoris does not result in a delictual action
 Actio quanti minoris can only be instituted on the basis of dictum et promissum
 dictum et promissum is wide enough to include culpable misrep
 Actio quanti minoris can only be instituted where in the case of a contract of sale a
misrep exist regarding the quality of the thing sold

Wells v South African Alumenite Company

Facts
 SA Alumenite sued Wells for purchase price of lighting plant which he bought from the
company
 Wells raised the defence that he had been induced to buy the plant by a misrep made
by the Company rep a d claimed recission of the contract
 But, he had signed an order form exempting the company from liability for an
representations made by its rep and it was held that in the absence of an allegation
that the company had made a fraudulent misrep Well’s defence could not succeed
Note
 A contractant cannot exclude his liability for fraudulent misrep
 He can exclude his liability for negligent or innocent misrep

Broodryk v Smuts
Facts
 B was threatened with internment in a concentration camp or imprisonment if he did
refused to join the army
 B was persuaded to join the army. B claimed recission of contract on basis that
contract had been bought about by duress
 Minister excepted to B’s claim on the ground that it disclosed no cause of action
Court held
 Exception didn’t exceed. All 5 elements required to make a contract voidable on the
grounds of duress were present
Note
 If all the elements of delictual liability are present un a particular case of duress, the
victim will naturally also be entitled to claim damages

Preller v Jordaan
Facts
 J was an elderly farmer suffering from an illness
 J was concerned about what would happen to his wife and farm laborers should he die
 P his medical practitioner, persuaded J to donate and transfer his 4 farms to P who
would then administer them for the benefit of J’s wife and farm laborers
 P then transfers the farms to His son, to his 2 daughters and himself
PVL301-W 10
 J instituted action against P, when his health returned, claiming retransfer of the farms
to him
Court held
 All 3 excepted to the claim on the ground that undue influence did not, in Roman-Dutch
law, constitute a ground for setting aside the contract of donation and subsequent
transfers
 The AD dismissed P’s exception and held that Roman-Dutch laws of restitatio in
integrum provided authority for the view that in our law undue influence rendered a
contract voidable
 Exceptions of the son and daughter where upheld- ownership had passed to P, who as
owner, validly transferred ownership to son and his 2 daughters and they had no part in
influencing J therefore no ground existed for the retransfer of the farms

Neethling v Klopper
Facts
 N sold farm to K and others
 Balance remaining on purchase price to be paid in installments
 N alleged that buyers defaulted and notified them that he’s canceling the sale
 Eventually came to an agreement where the buyers undertook to pay full purchase
price of the farm
 N alleged breach of contract, and cancelled contract of sale again. Buyers claimed
transfer of farm against payment of purchase price
 N admitted that there was no breach, but said contract was void because of non-
compliance with S1(1) of act 68 of 1957
 N argued that the new agreement brought a new contract for sale of land into being
and amendment of original contract also had to be in writing
Court held
 AD that N was bound to original contract because the agreement between the
attorneys didn’t bring a new contract of sale into being and the agreement between the
attorney’s didn’t effect a material amendment therefore no need to comply with the
formalities

Goldblatt v Fremantle
Facts
 F and G concluded an oral contract that F would supply G with Lucerne
 They agreed that arrangement reduced in writing by F and confirmed by G
 F started supplying G with Lucerne, F set out terms in a letter to G and asked G to
confirm terms in writing- G failed to do this
 F stopped supplying him with Lucerne and G sued F for breach of contract
Court held
 AD the action failed because F and G agreed that the contract of sale between them be
in writing and not verbal, no contract existed in absence of required written confirmation
by G

SA Sentrale Ko-op Graanmaatskaapy v Shifren

Facts
 Lessee entered in a contract of lease with Shifren (lessor)
 The contract had a clause prohibiting subletting or ceding rights without lessors written
consent and variation of the lease had to be in writing
PVL301-W 11
 When lessee later ceded his rights to a 3rd party without consent, the lessor cancelled
the contract and sued for ejectment
 The lessee’s defense was that there had been an oral variation of the non-variation
clause to the effect that an oral consent by the lessors to a cession would suffice and
the lessor’s had given such oral consent
Court held
 AD that the parties are bound by non-variation clause
Note
 Non-variation clause will protect a contract against oral variation only if the non-
variation clause is itself entrenched against oral variation therefore the contract can
only be amended by a written agreement between parties

Jajbhay v Cassim
Facts
 J and C entered into an illegal sublease of a residential stand. C, the sublessee, was
carrying out all the terms of the contract when J applied for her ejectment
Court held
 Order was refused
 AD held that 2 rules are applicable:
1. Ex turpi causa non oritur actio – no action arises from a dishonorable cause
therefore; an illegal contract is void and unenforceable- Absolute rule! One would
expect that restitatio in integrum can be claimed when there has been performance
in terms of an illegal contract, but this is prevented by rule 2
2. In pari delicto potior est condition defendentis seu possidentis- in case of equal guilt
the defendant or possessor is in the stronger position (possidentis rule). This is not
an absolute rule, the guilty party may be allowed to recover his performance if
public policy or simple justice between man and man requires it
 AD in casu there are no grounds for relaxing the rule
Note
 Illegal contract: conclusion, performance and purpose- contrary to common
law/statutory law, public policy and good morals

Magna Alloys and Research v Ellis

Facts
 E employed by Magna as a commission agent
 Contract of employment contained a clause prohibiting E from doing any business in
competition to the company within a defined area for a period of 2 years after
termination of his employment with the company
 After leaving the company E started working for a company in competition with Magna
and therefore breached the restraint clause
 E subsequently claimed outstanding commission and Magna counterclaimed for
damages on the grounds of E’s breach of restraint clause
Court held
 Court a quo rejected the counterclaim but this decision was reversed on appeal
 AD held that the restraint clause was unenforceable only if it is against public policy
and onus rests on the party bound by the restraint to prove that it is against public
policy.
 E didn’t succeed in proving restraint was against public policy
Note
PVL301-W 12
 The restraint of trade must be reasonable between the parties, must not be against
public policy, the validity of the clause is determined with regard to circumstances
existing at the time of conclusion of the contract.
 A court may find that art of the restraint is enforceable or unenforceable

Minister van Landbou-Tegnise Dienste v Scholtz

Facts
 S, breeder of bulls, sold one to M
 S knew M intended to use the bull for breeding
 Bull was infertile and M claimed cancellation of the sale and a refund
 M relied on the tacit consensual warranty which he alleged S had breached- the claim
was made more than a year after the sale
 S argued that to cancel a sale, must do so on the ground of latent defect, can only do
so with actio redhibitoria which is a naturalia of every contract of sale and prescribes
after a year
Court Held
 Reject S’s argument actio redhibilitoria didn’t exclude consensual warranty
 S and M did have such a tacitly incorporated warranty and has a 3 year prescription
period
Note
 This case is important for the distinction between the naturale and incidentale of a
contract
 Naturale are consequences attached to a particular contract ex lege e.g. Seller liable of
latent defects: the purchaser can claim Actio redhibitoria resile from a contract or actio
quantis minoris claim reduction in purchase price
 Incidentale are consequences not attached ex lege, but is tacitly decided by the parties

Van Den Berg v Tenner

Facts
 T sold a ½ share in his farm and 49% shares in Brick co to VdB
 Purchase price was R50 000, VdB paid R10 000
 VdB then withdrew from the contract
 T sold Farm to Mobile Earthmoving Services and Brickworks to V, N, W
 Then T and VdB contract to cancel the original contract and T refund VdB the R10 000
 They agreed that repayment came from new sale of farm and shares
 T cancelled both contracts and VdB claimed immediate repayment of the 10K
 VdB alleged that the repayment was a tacit term of the 2 nd contract
 T argued that the terms regarding the fund from where the repayment was supposed to
come was a suspensive condition and its non-fulfillment extinguished the obligation
Court Held
 The terms regarding the fund did not equal a suspensive condition but a tacit term
between T and VdB did exist therefore, judgment in VdB’s favour

Note
 No need to actually intend term

Fourie v CDMO homes

Facts
 Homes sold a piece of land bordered by a stream to F
 Agreement made subject to the “condition” that there were pumping rights
 Neither party knew whether such rights existed
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 F stopped paying installment when he discovered there were no pumping rights.
Homes sued for payment
 F claimed refund
Court held
 In favour of F
 Parties contracted subject to supposition that there were pumping rights since the
supposition was false the contract was void ad initio
Note
 A condition is a term which qualifies a contract with reference to an objectively
uncertain future event therefore, can never refer to a past/present state of affairs

Jurgens Eiendomsagents v Share

Facts
 Share sold his house to Smith through agency of J
 Purchase price financed as follows: R1400 cash deposit, R45 600 bank transfer and a
guarantee for R10 000 to be furnished by Smith after selling his house. The guarantee
had to be furnished before 30 March 1984
 Share had to pay J commission, even if cancelled
 The cash deposit and bank transfer were received, but the guarantee wasn’t paid
timeously and Share refused to continue with the transaction
 J sued Share for commission
 Shares defence was that the guarantee was a suspensive condition which wasn’t
fulfilled therefore no contract of sale was concluded
Court held
 AD rejected Share’s agreement
 Contract actually has 3 suspensive conditions: approval of the transaction by Smiths
employer, obtaining a bank loan and sale by Smith of his house
 All 3 had been fulfilled therefore enforceable contract of sale and therefore, J can claim
commission
 The guarantee was not a condition it was merely a term with a time clause attached
Note
 Terms refer only to those arrangement which create obligations
 Conditions refer to arrangement by which obligations are qualified in such a way that
their operation and consequences are made to depend on the happening or not
happening of an uncertain future event

Bank of Lisbon v De Ornelas

Facts
 2 respondents were joint MD’s of a company which caught and sold fish
 Appellant granted company overdraft and demanded they register mortgage bonds
over their homes and bind themselves as sureties to the appellant to secure the
company’s overdraft.
 The intention of the parties was that the securing would cover the company’s overdraft,
the bonds and deeds of suretyship were drafted in wide terms to provide that they
would secure any debt which the company owed the appellant
 Respondents request cancellation of the mortgage bond, deeds of suretyship and
negotiable certificate of deposit
 Appellant refused to comply and alleged it was entitled to retain security to cover a
claim for damages which it intended instituting against the company
 The claim arose from a transaction which was not in contemplation of any of the parties
when the security was furnished
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 The CPD granted the respondents setting aside order
AD held:
 Set aside the CPD decision
 Appellant was entitled to retain the security to cover the claim for damages
 Respondents relied on the exceptio doli
 The exceptio doli not received into Roman-Dutch law and therefore not part of our law.

Nel v Cloete
Note
 When is a debtor in culpable delay (in mora debitoris)? When the parties didn’t
expressly/tacitly agree to a time for performance and when a creditor may resile from
the contract because of the delay.
 When there is no date for performance the debtor must perform in reasonable time. If
he fails to form he is not yet in mora
 He must be placed in mora by means of a demand (interpellatio, which must allow for a
reasonable time) Should he then still fail to perform he is in mora ex persona
 Should there be an agreed time for performance and the debtor fails to pay he is then
in in mora ex re
 Mora debitoris is a form of breach of contract, therefore the creditor has an action for
damages and the right to cancel the contract
 Should the creditor wish to cancel the contract the mora debitoris must be serious i.e.
lex commissoria and notice of rescission
 Notice of rescission and interpellatio can be given immediately after conclusion of the
contract; they can be given together or separately; time allowed for performance is
judged objectively; it is not expressly decided whether time that passed before notice is
a factor to consider

Goldstein & Wolff v Maison Blanc

Facts
 Delivery of dresses too late and Maison blanc cancelled contract because G was in
mora ex re
Court held
 Contract required performance before a certain date, therefore agreement was reached
regarding date for performance and the appellant was automatically in mora ex re
 The court considered the nature of the contract and the surrounding circumstances: the
parties intended “time to be of the essence”
 The parties tacitly agreed that respondent would have right of cancellation if
performance didn’t take place timeously
 This case is mora ex re coupled with lex commissoria

Sweet v Ragerguhara
 Sweet bought immovable property, which wasn’t properly vacated?
 Important case for difference between mora debitoris and positive malperformance
 In casu there wasn’t merely a delay in giving the applicant undisturbed occupation of
the thing he bought (this would have been mora debitoris). Occupation was given but it
didn’t satisfy the requirements for undisturbed occupation
 Therefore couldn’t cancel contract on the basis of mora debitoris

Ranch International Pipelines v LMG Construction visa versa

Facts
 R subcontracted some building work to LMG
PVL301-W 15
 R then sought an order against LMG to vacate the site and stop working
 LMG bought a counter application to interdict R from interfering in LMG’s building work
Court held
 Granted LMG’s counter application because the creditor must co-operate to make it
possible for his debtor to render performance
 Mora creditoris is recognized as a separate form of breach of contract
Note
 Mora creditoris occurs when a creditor, whose co-operation is necessary to enable the
debtor to perform, fails to render his co-operation timeously, but performance still
remains possible

Stewart Wrightson v Thorpe

Facts
 Appellant= merger of 2 companies: bray Gibb a subsidiary in natal, and Mathews
Wrightson, also a subsidiary in natal
 The respondent started working for BG in 1964 as director and MP of the natal
subsidiary
 The respondent was unhappy with the proposed merger and orally informed BG that he
was leaving
 In terms of the respondent’s contract, his resignation had to be in writing and 6 months
notice was required. On the 24th may the respondent wrote a letter and gave 6 months
notice. On the 29th may BG insisted he resign immediately, and he was not required to
do work for the company for the 6 months and would receive his full salary
 The respondent took this as a repudiation of his contract and started working in direct
competition with BG
Note
 Repudiation as an offer does not equal a breach of contract. It only became a breach of
when the other party accepted it
 This is a case of repudiation by the creditor. The test of whether repudiation occurred is
objective
 The time and place of the breach is the time and place of the repudiation

Tuckers land & development corp. v Hovis

 Breach in anticipando- this is a breach that can take place even before performance
becomes enforceable
 Form of either repudiation or prevention of performance
 Any conduct which indicates with reasonable certainty that a performance which is
owing will not be rendered when it becomes due is sufficient to constitute repudiation
 Test for repudiation is objective
 NB question- whether it can be reasonably inferred from the repudiators conduct that
malperformance will take place in the future

Benson v SA mutual Life assurance society

Facts
 SA bought shares from B
 B delivered most of the shares and failed to deliver some of the shares
 SA claimed delivery of the outstanding shares
 B said that SA could get the shares from another source & a claim for damages would
compensate them adequately and an order for specific performance should be refused
Court
 AD rejected B’s argument:
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 The plaintiff had the right to choose between holding the defendant to the contract and
claim specific performance, or to claim damages
 The court has the discretion to refuse specific performance in certain circumstances,
such as if injustice were to occur as a result, or to satisfy the demands of public policy
etc.

BK Tooling v Scope Precision engineering

Question:
 What is the position where a plaintiff has rendered performance but his performance is
defective?
Court held:
 Any contracting party has in principle a right to the specific Performance undertaken by
the other party (i.e.-he has the right, in principle, to enforce the contract strictly
according to its terms)
 The right of a party to a reciprocal contract to withhold his performance until the other
party performs in full is a powerful weapon to enforce full performance
 In principle, therefore a defendant who has accepted the plaintiff defective reciprocal
performance is entitled to raise the exceptio against the plaintiff's claim even if the
plaintiff's performance is defective in MINOR ASPECTS only.
 However where FAIRNESS SO REQUIRES a court may, at its discretion, REFUSE TO
ALLOW a defendant to raise the exceptio and to order him to render a reduced
performance.

Mahabeer v Sharma
Facts
 S sold erf to M (3 July 1977)
 S acquired the right to rescind the contract on the ground of M’s breach 15 Sep 1980
 S executed this right on the 3rd Feb 1981
 M raised the defence of effluxion of time and claimed transfer
Court
 AD dismissed M’s claim
 Effluxion of time could terminate a right only where that right has prescribed otherwise
failure to exercise right within a reasonable time only serves to indicate waiver of the
right

Swart v Vosloo
Facts
 S leased premises on which there was a bottle store to V
 The lease granted V an option to buy premises during the lease
 S could cancel lease if V or any of his employees was prosecuted under the liquor act
 One of V’s employees was prosecuted
 S’s attorney wrote a letter to V cancelling the lease
 Letter delivered to V’s office at 12:00 on 4th March, but V only read it at 15:00
 At 14:50 on the same day, V delivered a letter to S in which he exercised the option
 S read the letter immediately
Court held
 AD: V had exercised the option 10 minutes before S cancelled the lease and that the
option had been validly executed
 Requirements to cancel a contract are stricter than the requirements to conclude one

Lavery & co v Jungheinrich

PVL301-W 17
Facts
 L claimed damages for breach of contract from J
 J= the manufacturer of steel scaling shafts, but supplied L with defective shafts
 L resold the shafts and its business reputation suffered severely
Legal question
 Could loss of trade and injury to business reputation (special damages) be
compensated?
Court
 Curlewis JA applied the contemplation principle
 Wessels JA applied the stricter convention principle
 Both concluded that damages couldn’t be recovered

Whitfield v Phillips
Facts
 W sold farm to P
 W knew P needed farm for cultivating pineapples on large scale
 After conclusion of contract P bought 1 million pineapple plants
 Later W repudiated the sale and P cancelled contract
 P sued for the following damages: compensation for loss of 1years crop and
compensation for loss of certain plants already established on the farm
AD held:
 The loss in respect of the crop from the plants must have been in contemplation of both
parties as a probably consequence of repudiation
 This claim set aside because probably already included in purchase price of the farm
Note
 Loss of profit as a result of breach of contract is not intrinsic damage
 Although liability of a 3rd party to compensate for such damages is based on agreement
(convention) Steyn JA doesn’t expressly apply the convention principle, he appears to
apply the contemplation principle
 Mitigation rule- there is a duty on the victim of a breach of contract to limit his damage
as far as possible. The victim must take reasonable steps to limit his loss

Shatz Investments v Kalovymas

Facts
 K hired premises from S to conduct restaurant and fast food business
 Lettor prohibited by the contract from letting any other building on the premises for a
similar purpose
 S breached this contract by letting to another fast food store
 K’s business was adversely affected
 K cancelled the lease and claimed damages from S
 Basis of claim was the loss of goodwill which K suffered
AD held:
 Loss of goodwill equals a claim for special damages
 Applied the convention principle
 Decisive time of determining the parties contemplation is the time of contracting

Holmdene Brickworks v Roberts Construction

Facts
 R bought bricks from H, the bricks were used in a building for a 3 rd party
 After the brickwork was completed- a large number of bricks were defective and
starting to crumble
PVL301-W 18
 R tore down walls and rebuilt them with bricks from another source
 R claimed loss suffered as a result of having to tear down the walls/ consequential loss
AD held
 Confirmed the award of damages by trial court
 Consequential loss= general damages therefore presumption arose that the loss ha
been contemplated by the parties & therefore unnecessary for the plaintiff to prove that
the parties had actually contemplated the loss
 Mitigation rule applicable

Van Zyl v Credit Corporation of SA

Facts
 VZ bought a car on hire purchase from a garage, having been induced to do so by
misrepresentation made by the garage
 VZ traded his own car in, paid deposit, bound himself to pay monthly deposits
 The garage then ceded its rights to Credit Corp who then became entitled to the
installments
 After paying 2 installments to Credit corp., VZ became aware of the misrepresentation-
he instituted action against credit corp., he claimed refund of the money paid to credit
corp. and the garage, rescission of the contract and return of his car or its value
 Credit corp. raised the exception that those particulars disclosed no cause of action
against it
 The court agreed
Note
 No one can transfer a better right than he himself has
 Debtor cannot transfer his duties without consent of creditor

Peters, Flamman & co v Kokstad Municipality

Facts
 P concluded a contract to erect street lights with K prior to the outbreak of WW1
 In 1915 the partners of P were enemy aliens and were interned and the partnership
was wound up
 K sued for damages for breach of contract
AD held:
 In the case of supervening impossibility, the position in our law is the same as in
Roman law- the obligations which arose at the time of contracting is extinguished as
soon as performance becomes impossible
 Debtor consequently discharged from his duty
Note
 If performance is impossible at the time of concluding the contract no obligation arises