Legal Implications of Two Different Scenarios

Particulars of claim against the Road Accident Fund

Read the scenario below and answer the questions:

A black Mercedes Benz (with registration numbers and letters JBI 123 GP) transporting the Johannesburg mayor from Soweto was speeding recklessly on the Golden Highway Highway between Soweto and Vanderbijlpark. The driver of the black Mercedes Benz, Simon Marota (a 45-year-old driver of 22 Mandela Street, Soweto), was irritated by a slow moving vehicle in front of him and intentionally bumped the vehicle with his Mercedes Benz from behind. Because of the speed at which Simon was driving and the size of his vehicle, the collision from behind caused Pieter van der Merwe, the driver of the smaller and slower Volkswagen Polo (with registration numbers and letters HRH 567 GP), to lose control of his vehicle. The Volkswagen Polo crashed into a concrete pillar of a bridge crossing the highway and as a result was damaged beyond repair.

After the accident the driver of the black Mercedes Benz, Simon, pulled up next to the Volkswagen Polo to see if the driver and passengers were safe. One of the bystanders at the scene of the accident, Lefa Nkosi, saw how the accident happened and recorded the entire incident with his cell phone. Simon was angered by Lefa’s actions and demanded that he (Lefa) hand over his cell phone to him (Simon) or face assault. When Lefa refused to hand over his phone, Simon hit him with his fists in the face and grabbed Lefa’s phone from him. Simon threw Lefa’s expensive iPhone X on the tar surface of the road under the passing motor vehicle. The phone was destroyed while Lefa had to be treated for facial injuries at the Sandton Medi-clinic after this incident.

After the accident, the Van der Merwes were conveyed by ambulance to the Carstenhof Private Hospital. Pieter (a 44-year-old plumber of 342 Theresapark, Pretoria), the driver of the Volkswagen Polo, was unconscious after the accident and remained in a coma due to severe head injuries, which were partially aggravated by him not wearing a safety belt at the time of the accident. He eventually died 6 months after the accident without ever regaining consciousness. Anna van der Merwe (a 37-year-old receptionist at the Tshwane City Council), Pieter’s pregnant wife, was a passenger in the Volkswagen Polo at the time of the incident and suffered a whiplash injury and a few minor scratches to the face. The trauma of the accident induced Anna into early labour. Baby Luis was born with deformities and will need medical assistance for the rest of his life. Anna was discharged from hospital after 30 days and baby Luis was treated in hospital for a further ten (10) weeks. Seventy-five (75) year old grandfather Willem and his fifteen (15) year old grandchild Jenny, Pieter’s daughter from a previous marriage, were sitting at the back seat of the Volkswagen Polo. Grandfather Willem had back problems before the accident, but after the accident his back deteriorated to such an extent that he had to undergo surgery. The surgery was not successful, and he has now been confined to a wheelchair. Grandfather Willem spent 6 weeks in hospital. Willem used his safety belt during the accident, as did his grandchild, Jenny. Jenny was traumatized by the accident and had to receive psychiatric counseling for 12 months after the accident. Jenny broke her left leg in the accident and also suffered from severe head injuries. She was hospitalized for 3 months and her grades in school dropped after the accident. This drop in grades severely affects her pre-accident ambitions of studying towards a law degree at Stadio.

Identification of causes of action available to Jenny

Pieter was 44 years old at the time of the accident and earned a yearly salary of R570 000. Anna was the beneficiary of Pieter’s life insurance policy to the value of R2 million and also received a lump sum of R2.5 million from Pieter’s employment pension fund after his death. Pieter’s Volkswagen Polo was fully insured with a reputable insurance company. Anna is earning a salary of R27 000 per month and was away from the office for the 30 days she was hospitalized and took unpaid leave for three months post the statutory maternity leave. Grandfather Willem owns his own business and after the accident he could no longer be involved in the day-to-day business of his company. He had to appoint a manager, Neville, to attend to his business interests. Pieter and his family were members of the ABC medical aid fund, but grandfather Willem had no personal medical insurance.

a. Draft pleadings (Particulars of claim) for all the claims to be instituted by Anna against the Road Accident Fund in the factual scenario above. Don’t include Reports explaining the quantification process, but it is essential to include realistic fictional amounts to complete the Particulars of claim.

Instructions: please note that you are not allowed to create your own set of facts. Any new fact not covered by the factual scenario will be assessed as incorrect. NB: An example of a particulars of claim has been uploaded on your module site. (25)

b. Identify all the causes of action available to Jenny from the factual scenario above. Also identify the prescription periods for all the different causes of action. Substantiate your findings with reference to academic opinions, case law and legislation. Do not answer this question in table format, but answer in essay format, making use of headings and include a complete and detailed bibliography (books, statutes, case law, etc). You will be assessed on structure and language. (25)

Answer the questions that follow after you have read through the scenario below:

Ntokozo was on holiday in Durban when a limited-edition Jaguar motor vehicle caught his attention. Ntokozo could not contain his excitement and went into the show room to view the Jaguar. Ntokozo was so impressed with the motor vehicle that he negotiated with Petros to purchase the Jaguar. The market value of the Jaguar during negotiations was R2 million. Thabang viewed the Jaguar on 22 September 2020. Ntokozo paid a refundable holding deposit of R800 000 to Petros on that day to ensure that Petros does not sell the Jaguar to someone else for the next 14 days.
On 29 September 2020 Ntokozo agreed to buy the Jaguar he viewed in Durban from Petros for R1.8 million. They further agreed that Ntokozo would pay thebalance of the purchase price (R1.8 million minus the R800 000 holding deposit = R1 million) into Petros’s bank account upon delivery of the motor vehicle within 7 days at Ntokozo’s residence in Polokwane. On 3 December 2020 the market value of the motor vehicle had dropped to R1 million because it was no longer one of only 2 Jaguars in South Africa.

Petros delayed delivery of the motor vehicle and eventually it was only delivered to Ntokozo in Polokwane on 20 December 2020. Ntokozo was unhappy about the delay, but so delighted to receive his Jaguar that he immediately paid the R1 million into Petros’s bank account. Two days after delivery, Ntokozo suffered a sudden break down in his fancy Jaguar whilst driving to a family gathering. Ntokozo had to make use of the services of an Uber driver (transport services) to get to the family gathering.

Ntokozo took the motor vehicle to the Jaguar experts and was informed that his newly bought Jaguar was spray painted in the last 30 days and had been damaged in an accident and repaired. The repairs were not done properly and that was the reason he had the unexpected break down. It cost Thabang R250 000 to repair the Jaguar. Ntokozo was not impressed that his Jaguar was not a ‘brand new’ motor vehicle and offered the Jaguar for sale to the dealership. The dealership offered Ntokozo R900 000 for his Jaguar, which made him furious and he immediately instructed his lawyers to sue Petros for contractual damages.

a. State the date of conclusion of the contract between Ntokozo and Petros and explain the form of breach of contract committed by Petros. Identify and discuss the legal principles applicable. Substantiate your findings with reference to academic opinions, case law and legislation. Answer in essay format, making use of headings and include a complete and detailed bibliography (books, statutes, case law, etc). You will be assessed on structure and language. (25)

b. Explain how to quantify the amount to be successfully claimed by Ntokozo. Substantiate your findings with reference to academic opinions, case law and legislation. Answer in essay format, making use of headings and include a complete and detailed bibliography (books, statutes, case law, etc). You will be assessed on structure and language. (25)