Sukdev v Sheriff Inanda Area 1 and Others (D918/2019) [2023] ZAKZDHC 34 (14 June 2023)

Sukdev v Sheriff Inanda Area 1 and Others (D918/2019) [2023] ZAKZDHC 34 (14 June 2023)

The court found that the plaintiff's particulars of claim were excipiable for vagueness and failure to disclose a cause of action. The claims were unstructured, contained inferences and legal conclusions, and disregarded the requirements of conciseness, lucidity, logic, clarity, and precision. The claims for pure economic loss lacked allegations of a legal duty, causation, foreseeability, and the necessary dolus for fraud. The particulars did not disclose a cause of action for any of the four claims. The exceptions were upheld, and the plaintiff was granted leave to amend her particulars of claim. The application to strike out was removed from the roll by agreement, with no order as to...

Citation
[2023] ZAKZDHC 34
Parties
Plaintiff: Anusaaya Sukdev; Defendant: Sheriff Inanda Area 1; Defendant: Rajesh Narayan; Defendant: Sunil Singh (aka Zain)
Court
Kwazulu-Natal High Court, Durban
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
14 June 2023
Case Number
D918/2019
Procedural Posture
Civil Trial / Exception and Application to Strike Out
Outcome
Exceptions upheld with costs; plaintiff granted leave to amend particulars of claim; application to strike out removed from the roll with no order as to costs.
Judges
Henriques
Legal Topics
Exception Procedure, Vague and Embarrassing Pleading, Cause of Action, Pure Economic Loss, Fraud, Facta Probanda Vs Facta Probantia
Civil Procedure Delict Exception Procedure Vague and Embarrassing Pleading Cause of Action Pure Economic Loss Fraud Facta Probanda Vs Facta Probantia

Case Brief

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Parties

Anusaaya Sukdev

Plaintiff

Sheriff Inanda Area 1

Defendant

Rajesh Narayan

Defendant

Sunil Singh (aka Zain)

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Trial / Exception and Application to Strike Out

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the plaintiff's particulars of claim are excipiable for vagueness and failure to disclose a cause of action.
  2. 2 Whether certain allegations in the particulars of claim should be struck out as scandalous, vexatious, or irrelevant.
  3. 3 Determination of costs occasioned by the exceptions and application to strike out.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the plaintiff's particulars of claim were excipiable for vagueness and failure to disclose a cause of action. The claims were unstructured, contained inferences and legal conclusions, and disregarded the requirements of conciseness, lucidity, logic, clarity, and precision. The claims for pure economic loss lacked allegations of a legal duty, causation, foreseeability, and the necessary dolus for fraud. The particulars did not disclose a cause of action for any of the four claims. The exceptions were upheld, and the plaintiff was granted leave to amend her particulars of claim. The application to strike out was removed from the roll by agreement, with no order as to...

Court Disposition

Exceptions upheld with costs; plaintiff granted leave to amend particulars of claim; application to strike out removed from the roll with no order as to costs.

Orders

  • The exceptions are upheld with costs.
  • The plaintiff is given leave to amend her particulars of claim within ten days of the grant of this order.