In a recent appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the
first-instance court could not ignore testimony adduced during a
hearing without having evaluated it.1
Facts
The first-instance court held that the appellants had forced the
appellee to resign from a nursing home. Damages for unfair
dismissal were awarded in the appellee's favour. During the
hearing, the appellee called the former director of the nursing
home as a witness.
The decision was appealed; one of the grounds for doing so was
that the first-instance court had not evaluated the former
director's testimony
In a note on its decision, the first-instance court stated that
as a legal dispute between the former director and the appellants
had been pending, it would have been incorrect for the court to
have relied on the former director's testimony. Consequently,
the court had ignored the testimony.
