The High Court in Johannesburg handed down a judgment in
November 2023 illustrating the effect of an application to strike
out a defence, and the next procedural step that legal
practitioners ought to take following the granting of an
application to strike out a defence.
The matter before the court, Adv. Motala N.O. K.C.W. v
Road Accident Fund was one where the plaintiff claimed
against the Road Accident Fund ("RAF")
for personal injuries sustained in an accident. The plaintiff in
this matter was acting in his representative capacity as curator ad
litem of a minor, who was 14 years old on the day of the
hearing.
On 2 May 2023, Strydom J struck out the RAF's defence,
granting the plaintiff an order to approach the registrar of the
court to seek a date for default judgment against the defendant. On
the date of the hearing of the default judgment, the court
addressed the process, as follows.
