Urgent application about Please Call Me payout dismissed

THE Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, has dismissed an urgent application by Black Rock Mining and investor Errol Elson to preserve 40% of "Please Call Me" Nkosana Kenneth Makate’s Vodacom payout.

- ZELDA VENTER

The company turned to the court to have the funds placed in a trust, pending further litigation, as it claimed that it had funded Makate's protracted legal proceedings and that it was entitled to its cut.

But Acting Judge Don Mahon said in his judgment yesterday that the application was not urgent, as there was no reason to believe that Makate would use the money, and thus there was no reason to urgently protect the money.

The company said it had entered into an agreement with Makate in 2011 to finance his legal fees in his lengthy battle with Vodacom for compensation regarding his Please Call Me invention.

The moment Vodacom had reached a secret settlement with Makate, estimated to run into about R700-million, Elson demanded his cut.

This aspect will, however, be determined during arbitration proceedings, but he, in the meantime, wanted 40% to be held in trust.