Road Accident Fund v Coughlan In his capacity as Curator Ad Litem to Blackbeard (5857/2006) [2011] ZAWCHC 10 (2 March 2011)

Road Accident Fund v Coughlan In his capacity as Curator Ad Litem to Blackbeard (5857/2006) [2011] ZAWCHC 10 (2 March 2011)

The appeal succeeded in part. The court found that the trial court had materially misdirected itself by attributing a remuneration of R1,250,000 per annum to the position of Junior Executive Director, when the correct figure, based on expert evidence, should have been R975,000 per annum, excluding profit share. The trial court's exclusion of profit share from the calculation was upheld. The court confirmed the trial court's approach to contingency deductions as conservative and appropriate, and agreed that any social security grants received by the patient should be deducted in the actuarial calculation. The order of the trial court was varied only to the extent of correcting the...

Citation
[2011] ZAWCHC 10
Parties
Appellant: Road Accident Fund; Respondent: Advocate Wayne Saleem Coughlan in his capacity as Curator Ad Litem to Marc Athol Gordon Blackbeard
Court
Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
2 March 2011
Case Number
5857/2006
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From Trial Court Judgment on Quantum of Damages
Outcome
Appeal partially upheld; order of trial court varied to correct remuneration figure and require deduction of social security grants; all other aspects of the order to stand.
Judges
Gamble, Moosa, Baartman
Legal Topics
Road Accident Fund, Loss of Earnings, Quantum of Damages, Contingency Deductions, Curatorship, Actuarial Calculation
Delict Civil Procedure Road Accident Fund Loss of Earnings Quantum of Damages Contingency Deductions Curatorship Actuarial Calculation

Case Brief

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Parties

Road Accident Fund

Appellant

Advocate Wayne Saleem Coughlan in his capacity as Curator Ad Litem to Marc Athol Gordon Blackbeard

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From Trial Court Judgment on Quantum of Damages

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the trial court erred in its assessment of the patient's future loss of earnings.
  2. 2 Whether the remuneration attributed to the position of Junior Executive Director was correct.
  3. 3 Whether profit share should be included in the calculation of loss of earnings.

Ratio Decidendi

The appeal succeeded in part. The court found that the trial court had materially misdirected itself by attributing a remuneration of R1,250,000 per annum to the position of Junior Executive Director, when the correct figure, based on expert evidence, should have been R975,000 per annum, excluding profit share. The trial court's exclusion of profit share from the calculation was upheld. The court confirmed the trial court's approach to contingency deductions as conservative and appropriate, and agreed that any social security grants received by the patient should be deducted in the actuarial calculation. The order of the trial court was varied only to the extent of correcting the...

Court Disposition

Appeal partially upheld; order of trial court varied to correct remuneration figure and require deduction of social security grants; all other aspects of the order to stand.

Orders

  • The Appellant's application for condonation for late filing of the appeal record is granted.
  • The appeal succeeds only to the extent that the directions to the actuaries regarding the remuneration figure are varied: R1,250,000 is replaced with R975,000 per annum for Junior Executive Director.