THREE SHADES OF SPOLIATION
Wilrus Trading CC and Another v Dey Street Properties (Pty) Ltd and Others (1750/2021) [2021] ZAGPPHC 42 (9 February 2021)
Spoliation is sometimes perceived as an odd remedy: how can the fact of possession of, for example, premises or access to electricity, be ‘protected’ by the law despite the fact that the person in possession is ‘in the wrong’? The reason is that it is a fundamental principle of our law that one may not take the law into one’s own hands, however wrong you may find the conduct of another. Therefore an interim solution becomes available to the person dispossessed, to restore things to the way they were, whereafter the merits of the dispute may be addressed. But what is possession? More than a mere contractual right to, for example, occupy premises pursuant to a lease, is required. This judgment explains the nuances with regards to possession in this context.
