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Wraypex Pty Ltd v Barnes and others

Pays/Territoire
Afrique du Sud
Type de cour
Nationale- cour inférieure
Date
Déc 6, 2010
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Nom du tribunal
North Gauteng High Court
Juge
Sapire
Langue
Anglais
Sujet
Terre et sols
Mot clé
Droit constitutionnel Responsabilité/indemnisation Accès-à-la-justice
Résumé
The current suit arose from green opposition to the now-completed Blair Atholl, the 330-house luxury estate, golf course and hotel development northwest of Johannesburg, which includes the Gary Player golf estate. The estate borders the Cradle of Humankind world heritage site and the Rhenosterspruit Conservancy. Wraypex, developer of the golf estate, accused the four —all residents of the area and members of the Rhenosterspruit Conservancy—of publishing false and malicious statements concerning the company and alleged that it was done wrongfully with the intention to injure the firm. Wraypex said the statements made to authorities delayed the necessary statutory approvals and, as a result of the delays, the developer suffered damages including the costs of finance and contractual penalties. Judge Stanley Sapire said Wraypex failed on all four claims of defamation and damages it had launched against Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservancy members. He said the suit was “vexatious litigation” and confirmed that it could be labelled as a Slapp suit, one of the first in South Africa. This is when developers threaten civil litigation against environmental activists and civil society organisations in order to silence critics and burden them with legal costs until they abandon their criticism.