South Africa: South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg

SOUTH GAUTENG HIGH COURT

JOHANNESBURG

CASE NO:32615/07

DATE:01/04/2011

In the matter between

BETTERBRIDGE LTD..................................................Applicant

and

OBAKENG GAITATE................................................Respondent

J U D G M E N T

WILLIS, J:

[1] This is an application for rescission of a default judgment granted against the present applicant. The present applicant has appeared in court twice this year and twice this year a postponement has been granted in order to assist the applicant to obtain legal representation and explore a way of resolving the matter. Earlier this week, I too indicated that I was prepared to hold the axe over until Friday morning to give them an opportunity to let them resolve the matter.

[3] At the end of the day, there really is no good cause shown why there should be a rescission. All that there is, is a plea ad misericordiam. One obviously feels sorry for the applicant. It is not pleasant to have a judgment granted against one but the court is not a charitable institution. If a person has no defence to a claim and a judgment has been granted, there is no good reason to set aside the judgment.

[4] Accordingly, the following order is made:

The application is dismissed with costs.