Figures & Co (Pty) Limited And 32 Others v Urban Real Estate (Pty) Limited (A5013/2022) [2023] ZAGPJHC 196 (6 March 2023)
The court held that the constitutional issue was raised for the first time on appeal and was not properly canvassed in the court a quo, thus it could not be entertained. There was no evidence of unfair discrimination against the first appellant, as his position differed from other tenants due to his arrears and...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2023] ZAGPJHC 196
- Parties
- Appellant: Figures & Co (Pty) Limited and 32 Others; Respondent: Urban Real Estate (Pty) Limited
- Court
- South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
- Jurisdiction
- South Africa
- Case Number
- A5013/2022
- Procedural Posture
- Civil Appeal / Appeal Against Eviction Order
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed with costs.
- Judges
- Wepener, Mdalana-Mayisela, Dlamini
- Legal Topics
- Eviction, Repudiation of Contract, Unfair Discrimination, Constitutional Rights, Lease Agreement, Costs Order
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Figures & Co (Pty) Limited and 32 Others
Appellant
Urban Real Estate (Pty) Limited
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal Against Eviction Order
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the eviction order infringed the first appellant's constitutional rights under section 9.
- 2 Whether the letter of 18 August 2021 constituted a repudiation of the lease agreement entitling the respondent to cancel the lease.
Ratio Decidendi
The court held that the constitutional issue was raised for the first time on appeal and was not properly canvassed in the court a quo, thus it could not be entertained. There was no evidence of unfair discrimination against the first appellant, as his position differed from other tenants due to his arrears and cancellation of contract. The argument regarding the letter of 18 August 2021 was moot, as the respondent relied on the appellants' refusal to pay rental, which constituted repudiation and justified cancellation of the lease. The appeal was dismissed as neither ground had merit.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed with costs.
Orders
- The appeal is dismissed with costs.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
37 paragraphs
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
CASE NUMBER: A5013/2022
(1) REPORTABLE: NO
(2) OF INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: NO
(3) REVISED: YES
In the application of:
FIGURES & CO (PTY) LIMITED AND 32 OTHERS Appellant
and
URBAN REAL ESTATE (PTY) LIMITED Respondent
Coram: Wepener et Mdalana-Mayisela et Dlamini JJ
Date of hearing: 22 February 2023
Date of judgment: 6 March 2023
This judgment is made an Order of Court by the Judges whose names are reflected herein, duly stamped by the Registrar of the Court and is submitted electronically to the Parties/their legal representatives by email. The judgment is further uploaded to the electronic file of this matter on Caselines by the Judge or his secretary. The date of this Order is deemed to be 6 March 2023
JUDGMENT
Wepener, J:
[1] This is an appeal against an order for eviction of the appellants from business premises. The matter was heard in the urgent court.
[1] The appellants were granted leave to appeal on four specific grounds of appeal after the court a quo granted an eviction order against the appellants. The appellants that remained before this court are: the first; the third; the fifth; the eleventh; twenty seventh, the twenty ninth and thirty second appellants (‘the remaining appellants’).
[2] Counsel appearing for the appellants did not persist with two of the four grounds of appeal. I consequently, only deal with the remaining two grounds. The first ground is that the court, by evicting the first respondent from the property, affected his s 9 constitutional rights. This ground only affects the first appellant. It was submitted that the first appellant should be protected from unfair discrimination as the court a quo ‘targeted’ the first appellant unfairly.
[3] This argument cannot be sustained. Firstly, this constitutional issue is raised for the first time on appeal. In Prokureursorde van Transvaal v Kleinhans,[1] Van Dijhorst J said that, in his view, and for the proper arrangements of practice, it is vitally important that constitutional
points not be shaken from a sleeve by advocates as a last point of debate, but such points should be pertinently raised as an issue in the papers so that it can be fully canvassed. It is common cause that no constitutional point was raised in the court a quo and therefore not dealt with on the papers or during argument.
[4] Secondly, the submission was that because the application for eviction against some tenants was postponed, the court discriminated by ordering the eviction of the first appellant. There is no merit in this submission. The matter was postponed against some of the tenants in order to allow them to make payment of amounts owing, if they so wished. The order was, nevertheless, granted and suspended pending such payment. The first appellant was in a different category. It was given notice on 10 August 2021 that it was in arrears. Due to non-payment, its contract was then cancelled on 25 August 2021. Its position was, thus, indeed different from those tenants against whom the order was suspended on condition of payment. There is, consequently, no evidence of any discrimination against the first appellant.
[5] The second remaining ground is relied upon on behalf of all the remaining appellants. It is that whether a letter of 18 August 2021 written by the appellants amounted to a repudiation of the lease which entitled the landlord (respondent) to resile from the lease. The difficulty with this ground is that it was not the letter of 18 August 2021 upon which the landlord relied. The landlord relied on a refusal to pay rental which constituted a repudiation of the lease agreements. This ground of appeal is consequently moot as the refusal to pay rental, which constituted a repudiation, which was accepted by the landlord, is not before us and the facts in relation thereto are uncontroverted.
[6] In the circumstances the two grounds of appeal do not assist the appellants and their appeal falls to be dismissed with costs.
W.L. Wepener
Judge of the High Court of South Africa
I agree.
M.M.P. Mdalana-Mayisela
J.E. Dlamini
Counsel for the Appellants:
N. Ralikhuvhana
Attorneys for the Appellants:
Lungisani Mantsha Attorneys
Counsel for the Respondent: C. van der Merwe
Attorneys for the Respondent: Vermaak Marshall
Wellbeloved Incorporated
[1] 1995 (1) SA 839 (T) at 849A-B.