Sheriff Bloemfontein West (1889/2024) [2024] ZAFSHC 205 (1 July 2024)

Sheriff Bloemfontein West (1889/2024) [2024] ZAFSHC 205 (1 July 2024)

The court held that Magistrate's Court Rule 9(3)(e) is sufficiently broad to allow lawful and sufficient service of process on a company or close corporation by affixing a copy to the main door or security gate of the registered office or principal place of business when no responsible employee is present and the...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2024] ZAFSHC 205
Parties
Applicant: Sheriff Bloemfontein West
Court
Free State High Court, Bloemfontein
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
1 July 2024
Case Number
1889/2024
Procedural Posture
Declaratory Application / Ex Parte Application; Unopposed Motion Court
Outcome
Declaratory order granted in respect of Rule 9(3)(e); no order as to costs.
Judges
JP Daffue
Legal Topics
Service of Process, Magistrates Court Rules, Companies and Close Corporations, Declaratory Relief
Civil Procedure Service of Process Magistrates Court Rules Companies and Close Corporations Declaratory Relief

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Parties

Sheriff Bloemfontein West

Applicant

Procedural Posture

Declaratory Application / Ex Parte Application; Unopposed Motion Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether service of process on a company or close corporation is valid when no employees are present and the premises are closed.
  2. 2 Whether the word 'person' in Magistrate's Court Rule 9(5) includes companies and close corporations.
  3. 3 Whether affixing process to the main door or security gate constitutes lawful service under Rule 9(3)(e).

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that Magistrate's Court Rule 9(3)(e) is sufficiently broad to allow lawful and sufficient service of process on a company or close corporation by affixing a copy to the main door or security gate of the registered office or principal place of business when no responsible employee is present and the premises are closed. The court rejected the interpretation advanced in Magricor and Barens, which required the presence of an employee unwilling to accept service, finding such an approach to be unbusinesslike and contrary to the purpose of the rules. The court further held that the word 'person' in Rule 9(5) does not include companies or close corporations, and thus declaratory...

Court Disposition

Declaratory order granted in respect of Rule 9(3)(e); no order as to costs.

Orders

  • It is declared that, in the case of a corporation or company, if no responsible employee is found at its registered office or principal place of business within the court’s jurisdiction which is kept closed, it would be lawful and sufficient service for the purposes of sub-rule 9(3)(e) of the Magistrate’s Court...
  • There shall be no order as to costs.