Litigation
We, at Gerrie Ebersöhn Attorneys, specialise in litigation, which means that we are fully conversant with the Rules of Court, and therefore know how to best advance our client’s rights. We frequently appear on behalf of our clients in various courts Magistrates’ Courts and High Courts and Labour Courts throughout South Africa and pride ourselves on having a high success rate.
Magistrate’s Court Litigation
Generally speaking, if a claim is for less than R400 000, the claim will be instituted in the Magistrate’s Court. More or less each town has its own Magistrate’s Court. The advantage of litigating in the Magistrate’s Court is that, again generally speaking and depending on which Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction, one can finalise a trial within 9 months to 12 months.
High Court Litigation
As a general rule, if the claim is for more than R400 000, the claim will be instituted in the High Court. Generally speaking, each province has its own High Court. Sometimes, a province has two High Courts, such as Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal. High Court matters take longer to finalise due to the limited number of judges that are available to adjudicate matters and due to the general complexity of matters that these judges adjudicate.
Both advocates and attorneys may appear in the High Court, provided that the attorney has the right to appear in the High Court. All the practitioners at Gerrie Ebersöhn attorneys have such right of appearance in the High Court and frequently appear in the High Court, both in unopposed and opposed matters. As such, when you instruct us to either advance or defend a matter on your behalf in the High Court, there is no need to appoint an advocate, and we are therefore able to keep your litigation costs within reasonable limits
Labour Court Litigation
It is a general misconception that the Labour Court has jurisdiction over all “labour matters”. Generally, speaking, unfair dismissals and unfair labour practice disputes will have to be adjudicated by the CCMA (or relevant bargaining council). If the losing party is dissatisfied with the arbitration award, the said party may take the matter on review to the Labour Court. Generally speaking, the Labour Court will determine whether the CCMA-award is reasonable and whether the arbitrator acted procedurally fairly during the arbitration hearing.
Certain matter, such as automatically unfair dismissals and mass retrenchments, will be adjudicated by the Labour Court.
Not all provinces have their own Labour Court. For example, there is no Labour Court in the Free State.
Both attorneys and advocates may appear in the Labour Court. The practitioners at Gerrie Ebersöhn Attorneys frequently appear in the Labour Court, both in unopposed and opposed matters.
Arbitrations
Many commercial agreements provide that in the event of a dispute, the parties shall refer the dispute to arbitration. Depending on the terms of the relevant agreement, the parties are free to choose the arbitrator. The parties are also free to agree where they want to hold the arbitration hearing and what rules shall apply to the arbitration proceedings.
The advantage of agreeing to refer the dispute to arbitration is that, depending on the nature and complexity of the dispute, the arbitrator will be able to hear evidence and give an award within a couple of months, as opposed to waiting a long time to receive a trial date in the High Court.
Our team of attorneys has extensive experience in representing clients in arbitration disputes and in appearing on behalf of our clients at arbitration hearings and pride ourselves on handling matters swiftly and cost effectively.
Litigation And Dispute Resolutions Enquiry
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