Furman and Another v City of Johannesburg and Others (2022/026555) [2025] ZAGPJHC 127 (3 February 2025)

Furman and Another v City of Johannesburg and Others (2022/026555) [2025] ZAGPJHC 127 (3 February 2025)

The applicants are not entitled to the substantive relief sought because contempt of court by the City, while egregious, does not itself justify bypassing statutory procedures or granting orders to reset municipal accounts or compel the issuance of clearance certificates. The applicants failed to follow the prescribed administrative process, specifically by not applying for clearance figures or a clearance certificate as required by section 118(1) of the Municipal Systems Act. The court cannot usurp the statutory functions of the municipality without the executive first having a reasonable opportunity to exercise its powers. The correct approach is for the applicants to apply for...

Citation
[2025] ZAGPJHC 127
Parties
Applicant: Darryl Furman; Applicant: Linsey Michele Furman; Respondent: City of Johannesburg; Respondent: The City Manager (Johannesburg); Respondent: The Director, Water Services (City of Johannesburg)
Court
South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
3 February 2025
Case Number
2022/026555
Procedural Posture
Urgent Application / Return Date of Rule Nisi; Opposed Motion Roll
Outcome
Application dismissed; rule nisi discharged; previous orders remain unaffected; each party to pay own costs incurred after 26 February 2024.
Judges
Smit
Legal Topics
Municipal Services Disputes, Section 118 Clearance Certificate, Contempt of Court, Dispute Resolution Procedure, Separation of Powers
Administrative Law Land and Property Municipal Services Disputes Section 118 Clearance Certificate Contempt of Court Dispute Resolution Procedure Separation of Powers

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 22 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Darryl Furman

Applicant

Linsey Michele Furman

Applicant

City of Johannesburg

Respondent

The City Manager (Johannesburg)

Respondent

The Director, Water Services (City of Johannesburg)

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Urgent Application / Return Date of Rule Nisi; Opposed Motion Roll

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicants are entitled to have their municipal account set to nil and to compel the City to issue a clearance certificate based on the City's contempt of previous court orders.
  2. 2 Whether contempt of court by the City justifies substantive relief such as resetting accounts and issuing clearance certificates.
  3. 3 Whether the applicants followed the correct statutory and administrative procedures before seeking relief from the court.

Ratio Decidendi

The applicants are not entitled to the substantive relief sought because contempt of court by the City, while egregious, does not itself justify bypassing statutory procedures or granting orders to reset municipal accounts or compel the issuance of clearance certificates. The applicants failed to follow the prescribed administrative process, specifically by not applying for clearance figures or a clearance certificate as required by section 118(1) of the Municipal Systems Act. The court cannot usurp the statutory functions of the municipality without the executive first having a reasonable opportunity to exercise its powers. The correct approach is for the applicants to apply for...

Court Disposition

Application dismissed; rule nisi discharged; previous orders remain unaffected; each party to pay own costs incurred after 26 February 2024.

Orders

  • The rule nisi issued on 26 February 2024 and extended on 20 May 2024 is discharged.
  • The application embodied in the applicants’ supplementary notice of motion dated 24 November 2023 is dismissed without detracting from the orders made on 4 September 2023 and paragraphs 1 and 3 of the order on 26 February 2024.