Trust Bank of Africa Ltd v Eksteen

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Judge: Harcourt J
• Judgment Date: 04 September 1963
• Citation: 1964 (1) SA 74 (N)
• Hearing Date: 14 August 1963
• Court: Natal Provincial Division

Trust Bank of Africa Ltd v Eksteen
1964 (1) SA 74 (N)

1964 (1) SA p74

Citation	1964 (1) SA 74 (N)
Court	Natal Provincial Division
Judge	Harcourt J
Heard	August 14, 1963
Judgment	September 4, 1963

Flynote : Sleutelwoorde

H Sale — Hire-purchase agreements — Sec. 7 (1) of Act 36 of 1942 not complied with — Such agreements null and void — Such agreements cannot found any right of recovery — Estoppel — Scope and applicability of — Review of.

Headnote : Kopnota

Contracts purporting to have been concluded in contravention of, or without compliance with, the requirements of section 7 (1) of Act 36 of 1942, as amended, are invalid, null and void ab initio and are not to be given any force or effect since they are in defiance of such provisions which were enacted in the public interest and as a matter of public policy. Such agreements

1964 (1) SA p75

cannot found any right of recovery based upon the terms of such contracts read with any standing agreements.

The scope and applicability of estoppel in our law reviewed.

Exceptions to a replication. The nature of the pleadings appears from the reasons for judgment.

Case Information

A D. D. Will, S.C., for the excipient (defendant).

S. T. Pretorius, for the respondent (plaintiff).

Cur adv vult.

Postea (September 4th).

Judgment

B Harcourt, J.:

This case relates to certain exceptions taken by the defendant (as I shall call the excipient) to the replication of the plaintiff (as I shall call the respondent).

C The declaration of the plaintiff seeks an order for judgment in the sum of R18,655.47 together with interest thereon at 6 per cent per annum from the date of summons and costs. This amount is claimed in the declaration to be due by virtue of a contract entered into between the plaintiff on the one hand, and defendant and one Scheepers on the other D hand, on the 17th and 10th days of April, 1959, respectively. This contract was in the nature of a standing agreement between the plaintiff as a financing institution and the defendant and Scheepers as motor dealers in relation, inter alia, to the discounting by the plaintiff of hire-purchase agreements relating to vehicles sold by the defendant and E Scheepers. The declaration alleged that the defendant and Scheepers carried on business as motor dealers in partnership at Vryheid, Natal under the name of Peter Pan Motors.

The declaration continued to allege that, pursuant to the standing agreement, the plaintiff from time to time discounted hire-purchase agreements and that plaintiff duly carried out its obligations under the standing contract by paying various moneys to the partnership in F relation to such hire-purchase agreements and by receiving cession of such hire-purchase agreements.

By reference to a schedule, the declaration further alleged that 29 identified hire-purchase agreements had been dealt with in this way and G that payments were made by the plaintiff in regard thereto totalling R28,974.70 to which sum was added interest in the amount of R1,471.52 and legal costs of R1,463.40. The schedule then reflected that payments had been received by the plaintiff totalling R13,254.12 and that, as at the 3rd October, 1962, the 'present balance' on the hire-purchase account was R18,655.47, the amount claimed.

H The declaration then referred specifically to clauses 5 and 6 (a) of the standing agreement as the basis upon which the plaintiff claimed to be entitled to recover the amount of the claim from the partnership. It was next alleged that the partnership was dissolved by reason of the sequestration of the estate of Scheepers and that, in the premises, defendant was and is liable for payment of the said amount. The declaration averred that 14 days' notice had been given to the defendant to make payment of the moneys in question and that, in such notice.

1964 (1) SA p76

Harcourt J

the plaintiff had tendered to cede back to the defendant the hire-purchase agreements in question. The claim was made dependent upon the repetition of the tender in the declaration. Clauses 5 and 6 of the A standing agreement require to be considered in detail. The contract itself is in the Afrikaans language but since the pleadings are, and the argument was conducted, entirely in English this judgment is in English. An English translation of the standing agreement which, by coincidence, was recently considered in the case of the Trust Bank of Africa Ltd v Imperial Garage and Filling Station, 1963 (1) SA 123 (AD), can be B conveniently found at pp. 126 - 7 of the report of that case. The preamble and clauses 1 to 6 of the standing agreement here in question read as follows:

'Aangesien die maatskappy ooreengekom het om volgens sy goeddunke van tyd tot tyd die handelaar se regte in ooreenkomste (algemeen as huurkoop - of opskortende verkoopsooreenkomste bekend en verder hierin 'ooreenkomste' genoem) te koop en/of te verdiskonteer en om in besit te C kom van die handelsware wat die onderwerp van sondanige ooreenkomste vorm of om wisselbriewe of promesses te verdiskonteer of finansiering op 'vloerplan' beskikbaar te stel;

en aangesien dit die voorneme is dat die maatskappye en die handelaar van tyd tot tyd sal ooreenkom aangaande die koopprys en/of verdiskonteringsbedrag wat deur die maatskappy aan die handelaar betaalbaar is ten aansien van 'n besondere ooreenkoms of ooreenkomste wat deur die handelaar aan die maatskappy verkoop en/of deur die maatskappy verdiskonteer is of ten aansien van 'n wissel of promesse wat D deur die maatskappy verdiskonteer is of ten opsigte van en met betrekking tot 'n vloerplankontrak met die maatskappy gesluit deur die handelaar en die voorwaardes en bedinge van betaling;

en aangesien die voorneme bestaan dat die handelaar van tyd tot tyd aan die maatskappy ooreenkomste en of wisselbriewe of promesses sal aflewer indien en wanneer die maatskappy ooreenkom om sodanige ooreenkomste te koop en/of te verdiskonteer, sodanige finansiering op vloerplan te doen of sodanige wisselbriewe of promesses te verdiskonteer;

E nou derhalwe word hiermee ooreengekom dat, indien en wanneer die maatskappy instem om 'n ooreenkoms te koop of te verdiskonteer of 'n wisselbrief of promesse te verdiskonteer of 'n vloerplankontrak te sluit met die handelaar, die volgende voorwaardes en bedinge vir sodanige kontrak sal geld:

1. Die handelaar moet sodanige ooreenkomste, wissels, fakture of promesses en alle aanvullende of daarmee gepaardgaande ondernemings, waarborge, borgstellings, polisse of erkennings (verder hierin gesamentlik 'dokumente' genoem) aflewer en daardeur al sy regte, F aanspraak en belang wat hy kragtens en uit hoofde van sodanige ooreenkomste, wissels, fakture, promesses en/of dokumente dan mag hê of daarna mag verkry, aan en ten gunste van die maatskappy oormaak en oordra.

2. Aangesien dit die voorneme van die partye is dat die maatskappy by sodanige oormaking die eienaar sal word van die handelsware waaroor sodanige ooreenkomste handel, kom die handelaar ooreen dat die maatskappy die reg sal hê om die persoon wat in besit van sodanige G handelsware is, van sodanige oormaking en van die verandering in die eiendomsreg t.o.v. sodanige handelsware in kennis te stel. Die handelaar stem verder toe om in geval van die sekwestrasie van die skuldenaar se boedel, alle sodanige regte op die handelsware as waarop die handelaar kragtens en uit hoofde van art. 84 van die Insolvensiewet van 1936, soos gewysig aanspraak het of mag kry, aan die maatskappy af te staan, oor te maak en oor te dra.

3. Die maatskappy sal die reg hê om in verband met die regte wat aan hom oorgemaak is of enigeen daarvan en/of die besit van die handelsware H waaroor sodanige ooreenkomste handel, te onderhandel, dié te verkoop, oor te maak, oor te dra of te verpand, absoluut of met sodanige voorwaardes, wysigings en bepalings as wat hy goed ag.

4. Die handelaar stel hiermee die maatskappy skadeloos teen alle en enige eise of vorderinge, uit watter oorsaak dit ook al mag ontstaan, wat deur skuldenaars of enige ander derde partye ten aansien van of in verband met enige handelsware waaroor enigeen van die hierin genoemde of ander ooreenkomste handel, teen die maatskappy ingestel word, en genoemde skadeloosstelling dek ook alle en enige koste en rekeninge wat uit of in verband met sodanige eise of vorderinge mag ontstaan, maar steeds met dié verstandhouding dat niks wat in hierdie ooreenkoms vervat is so verklaar sal word dat die maatskappy enigeen van die

1964 (1) SA p77

Harcourt J

handelaar se verpligtinge kragtens sodanige ooreenkomste of in verband met enige handelsware aanvaar nie.

5. Sonder inkorting of verswakking van die maatskappy se ander of verdere regte kragtens hierdie ooreenkoms en in die genoemde ooreenkomste en dokumente, stel die handelaar hom hiermee tussenbeide en verbind homself in solidum teenoor die maatskappy as borg vir en A mede-hoofskuldenaar met die onderskeie skuldenaars en verbondenes kragtens die genoemde ooreenkomste en dokumente onder afstanddoening van die voorreg van die eksepsies ordinis seu excussionis et divisionis en de duobus vel pluribus res debendi vir die behoorlike nakoming en uitvoering van alle daarin bepaalde pligte en verpligtinge. Die handelaar stem hiermee toe dat die maatskappy ten einde sy belange te beskerm en sonder inkorting van sy regte kragtens hierdie ooreenkoms, die reg sal hê om tydverlengings toe te staan of om enige ander tegemoetkoming te verleen of om 'n skikking met die skuldenaar of ander B verbonde te tref soos die maatskappy goed ag. Die verstandhouding is dat geen bedrag wat deur die handelaar kragtens hierdie waarborg betaal word, hom die reg op 'n oormaking of oordrag van die regte van die maatskappy teen die skuldenaar gee nie tot tyd en wyl die onderhawige ooreenkoms ten volle vereffen is nie.

6. (a)

By die aangaan van hierdie...