Court to rule on class action lawsuit against banks over property repossessions

WHILE hundreds of people who claimed that their homes were unfairly repossessed will turn to court to have a R60 billion class action against major banks certified, the court ordered that no more affidavits may be filed in this matter.

- ZELDA VENTER

The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, is due to hear the matter relating to the class action later this month. But it recently delivered a judgment regarding interlocutory applications in the long-running proceedings to have the matter classified as a class action.

The applicants, among others, wanted the court to grant them an indulgence to file further affidavits to bolster their case. This is in spite of previous pronouncements by judges that the pleadings have closed.

The certification of a class action was instituted in February 2020 against four of the country’s major banks, as well as against financial institutions and public bodies. In the certification application, which is due to be heard in court later this month, the applicants seek to certify a class action to claim damages against the banks.

Their case is that the banks sold their properties for amounts substantially less than their market value, or not as a last resort. They said that on this basis, the banks are liable for the losses they have suffered as a result.