In the US state of Georgia, the formula applied with court backing since 2001 for determining how much a car’s value diminishes after a wreck and repair is “the difference between pre-loss value and post-repair value”.  Attorneys for two plaintiffs brought a class action alleging that the insurer was underestimating the value of repaired cars but they had no different formula to put before the court. The court said “another generation of creative lawyers” had…

The Pension Funds Act, 1956 (“PFA”) is the primary legislation regulating retirement funds. Section 30A of the PFA provides that any person who has a complaint as defined in section 1 “may lodge a written complaint with the retirement fund for consideration by the board, which must be properly considered and responded to within 30 days”. Should the complainant be dissatisfied with the decision of the board, they may then lodge a complaint with the…

This blog was co-authored by Sa’ood Lahri, Director and Muhammad Mirza, Candidate Attorney In August 2021 the High Court[1] accepted that an affidavit commissioned over a WhatsApp video-call constitutes substantial compliance with the applicable regulations[2] and is valid in light of the practical difficulties faced by the deponent due to the raging Covid19 pandemic. The deponent to the founding affidavit, infected with the Covid19 virus, was in self-isolation and could not leave her…

This blog was co-authored by James Donald, Candidate Attorney Following the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the aims of government’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) is to encourage localisation. With a focus on purchasing local inputs instead of importing, this is intended to assist in uplifting the economy. The challenge is however that often firms are too small to independently achieve such goals, and collaboration with competitors may be required. But…

This blog was co-authored by Julia Sham-Guild and James Donald The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many industries to become highly reliant on digital markets. The gradual move over the past few decades and this recent sharp uptake as a result of Covid-19 has resulted in an increased need for regulators to be able to monitor the conduct of parties in this sector. The European Commission recently released its proposed artificial intelligence (AI) regulations, while the…

An electronic cigarette store failed in its claim for an indemnity from its insurer for a vape battery that exploded in a customer’s pocket away from its premises. The policy excluded an event “occurring on any premises other than the designated premises shown in the schedule”. The products-completed exclusion clearly precluded coverage for bodily injury occurring away from the premises owned or rented by the insured arising out of their product or work.  The product…

In this August 2021 judgment, the Federal Court of Australia in Star Entertainment Group Limited v Chubb Insurance Australia Limited [2021] FCA 907 had to deal with the interpretation of an insurance policy of the insureds who owned and operated various casinos and associated businesses.  The insureds allege that the government’s directions in connection with Covid-19 caused significant interruption to their business and that, under the insured’s industrial special risks insurance policy and memorandum 7,…