Articles

In the last issue, we gave consideration to Companies as forms of business enterprise. In this issue, attention will be given to the Business Trust.

Businessmen seldom profit from legal intervention, as it is mostly aimed at enforcing a right you already have or collecting money you are already owed. 

In the last issue, we gave consideration to the sole proprietorship and the partnership as forms as business enterprise available to RMI members. In this issue, attention will be given to close corporations.

A big thank you to the RMI 4 Law members for their suggested topics. In a series of articles over the next issues, we will review the various forms of business enterprise available to members. Attention will only be given to relevant forms of enterprise, suitable for conducting activities aimed at profit.  

In essence, surety agreements are intended as a form of security or guarantee for the due and punctual performance of another. This often takes the form of an undertaking to pay an amount of money in the event that another fails to pay a creditor. More often than not, standard-form sureties tend to be uncapped in respect of monetary exposure, arising from any indebtedness whatsoever for an indefinite period of time. Many sureties simply forget that they have agreed to be liable for another’s debt and therein lies the problem.

In response to recent RMI4Law member enquiries relating to this topic, we offer the following summary of the differences between reckless/negligent driving and inconsiderate driving, as wll as the consequences of each.

Dealership A purchases a vehicle from another, dealership B, who in turn creates the impression that he is the lawful owner of the vehicle as he has a mandate to sell the vehicle on behalf of person C. In that regard Dealership B represents person C as his agent. Dealership A takes delivery of the vehicle as payment of money owing to it by dealership B and never settles with person C. Upon realising that dealership B had delivered the vehicle to dealership A as payment of its indebtedness, person C requests that seizure of the vehicle be authorised.

In the past, the natures of franchise agreements were determined only by the contents thereof and the franchisees’ and franchisors’ fates were in the hands of the author of the particular agreement.

The new Companies Act, Act 71 of 2008, has been under the magnifying glass since its introduction despite it being put into force on 1 May 2011. Many critics still believe that it finds insignificant relevance in South Africa due to its North American origin.

In common law, a contract is a written agreement, which is a binding document and enforceable in a court of law.