The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld an appeal of the Executive Officer of the Financial Services Board (FSB) against an earlier High Court judgement which dismissed the FSB’s application to have a part of the business of Dynamic Wealth placed under curatorship.
The Pretoria High Court dismissed the application on technical grounds, mainly that the inspection report on which the FSB relied was inadmissible. But, in a unanimous judgment delivered on 15 November 2011, the SCA rejected this finding, saying there was nothing wrong with either the report or the way it was presented to the court.
The SCA has clarified the law regarding what the test should be for “good cause” for the Registrar to apply for a curatorship. The SCA’s judgment also criticised another Pretoria High Court decision on this aspect.
The SCA made the following order:
(a) The appeal is upheld with costs including the costs of two counsels.
(b) The order of the High Court is set aside and replaced by an order that the respondents pay the applicant’s costs, including the costs of two counsels.
(c) Both costs orders are joint and several, the one paying the others to be absolved.
A copy of the full judgment is available on the FSB website http://www.fsb.co.za/
Dynamic Wealth investors are advised to read the judgment.
The request of the FSB that a curatorship order still be issued to take care of the remnants of Dynamic Wealth’s business was declined. However, the FSB will consider ways and means of protecting the interests of investors who have suffered loss.
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