Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

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Latest from Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Prescription of debt for restitution after contract cancelled

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 21, 2019

Where one party cancels a contract because of repudiation by the other party there is an obligation to make restitution and to pay money or deliver assets which were received as performance under the cancelled contract. The cancellation gives rise to a personal obligation to pay or deliver what was received. The same would apply to an obligation resting on the party to pay damages or pay money by virtue of unjustified enrichment following the…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

International Arbitration Act does not override local law

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 21, 2019

The purchaser of a consignment of coal sought to join the party which had loaded hot coal on board the vessel causing an explosion and abandonment of the voyage. It was held that the International Arbitration Act 2017 does not override the admiralty jurisdiction of the court. The Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 1983 is a special act which governs all admiralty matters that come before South African courts. It confers wide-ranging jurisdiction upon and vests…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Entire building cladding replaced despite only two sides damaged

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 14, 2019

A hailstorm physically damaged the aluminium cladding on the south and west sides of the insured building. The insurer was ordered to replace the cladding on all sides of the building because a matching cladding could not be found. It was held that the obligation to pay for “direct physical loss” to the “covered property” meant the damage caused to the building as a whole which required replacement of property of “comparable material and quality”.…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Damages under insurance contract with reinstatement value conditions

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 12, 2019

Where an insurance policy included reinstatement value conditions and the insured had taken immediate steps to comply with the reinstatement conditions, the insured could rely on the clause as long as the insured was genuinely desirous of restarting the business but was unable to do so because of the insurer’s unjustifiable decision not to indemnify under the policy. The proviso to the reinstatement value conditions that they are ‘without force or effect if the insured…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Contribution between insurers (US)

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 12, 2019

When Empire Insurance Company paid the claim for losses sustained by a car hire company when the hirer crashed their Lamborghini, it sought to recover its outlay from Allstate Insurance who insured the driver who was responsible for damage to the vehicle under the rental contract. The court held that Allstate was not entitled to rely on a provision in its policy which only covered a substitute vehicle ‘after all other collectable insurance has been…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Setting aside arbitration finding for fraud discovered after award (UK)

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 7, 2019

The English commercial court set out the limited basis on which an arbitration award can be set aside when it is alleged that evidence of fraud that would have affected the decision only came to light after the award. The merits of an arbitration award are rarely reviewed. Public policy exceptions such as fraud can be invoked but only in a clear case and with extreme caution. When considering whether an award has been obtained…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

The State’s liability for damages at a school under the Schools Act

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 6, 2019

The South African Schools Act 1996 makes the State liable for any delictual damage or loss caused as a result of any act or omission in connection with any school activity for which the school would otherwise have been liable. The State is only liable to the extent that the event is not covered by public liability insurance obtained by the school. There is an exemption for any ‘enterprise or business operated under the authority…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

Separating good from bad in a statute

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on July 30, 2019

It has been reaffirmed that where part of a law is invalid for being beyond the powers of the lawmaker (ultra vires) the good in the law will not be separated from the bad if it is complicated and impractical to do so. If there is an incoherent remainder, the entire law will be set aside. In a matter before the Supreme Court of Appeal it was found that the Minister of Mineral Resources had…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

A rare contribution case, and the pollution exclusion (US)

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on July 30, 2019

After the Zurich American Insurance Co (ZAIC) in Missouri, USA paid out a claim on wrongful death from asbestos exposure, it sought a contribution from Insurance Company of North America (INA). The claim for contribution failed because the INA policy had a pollution exclusion but the principles of contribution between insurers were discussed. The facts were unusual. A man who had been exposed to asbestos fibres and dust at work brought the substances home on…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

FinTech in the legal arena – introducing our new blog series

By Desiree Reddy (ZA) on July 24, 2019

Financial technology, often referred to as FinTech, is the marriage between financial and technology services. The FinTech offering seeks to provide innovative alternatives to traditional methods in the delivery of financial services. On Wednesday, 28 August 2019, Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa will host a seminar focusing on the impact of FinTech within the legal industry. More information on the FinTech seminar is available here. As a lead up to the seminar, this blog…

Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot

South African banking, finance and insurance law know-how

Blog Authors

Prescription of debt for restitution after contract cancelled

International Arbitration Act does not override local law

Entire building cladding replaced despite only two sides damaged

Damages under insurance contract with reinstatement value conditions

Contribution between insurers (US)

Setting aside arbitration finding for fraud discovered after award (UK)

The State’s liability for damages at a school under the Schools Act

Separating good from bad in a statute

A rare contribution case, and the pollution exclusion (US)

FinTech in the legal arena – introducing our new blog series

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