No Plea, No Play: A Hard Lesson In Summary Judgment

In a summary judgment application, there's no room for improvisation. The court is not there to hear your side of the story - it's there to see your proof. If you want to stand a chance, you need to lay your defence out with surgical precision: every fact, every document, every ounce of evidence must be on the table.

Courts expect defendants to fully disclose their defence in their pleadings, not spring it later in an affidavit. If you are raising a new issue, you must amend your plea - no shortcuts. This is the unforgiving terrain of Rule 32. And yet, in Firstrand Bank Ltd v Na-Myns Boerdery and Harrisdale Boerdery, the defendants stumbled at every turn. They raised defences that were not pleaded, failed to back up their claims with evidence, and relied on vague arguments about fairness and public policy - none of which held up under scrutiny. The result? A swift and decisive ruling against them. This case is not just a judgment - it is a warning.