Miscellaneous | The Van Der Walt Case

This case dealt with an unfortunate situation where an application for leave to appeal in a civil matter had erroneously been referred to two panels of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The one had granted an application for the matter to be referred back to the trial court for further evidence. The other had refused the application. Justice says that he adopted a practical position in favour of sending the matter back for a further hearing. If the result was the same outcome the successful party could benefit from an appropriate costs order. On the other hand, if the application was dismissed the unsuccessful party would have been deprived of an opportunity to get to the truth of the matter.