Staff Reporter
GONDWANA Collection Namibia has failed to convince the high court that an application in which it wants Hollard Insurance to pay out a claim should be heard on an urgent basis.
Gondwana is suing Hollard Insurance after the latter refused to pay out an insurance policy.
According to Gondwana, Hollard should payout due to the losses Gondwana suffered as a result of the interruption of its business due to the outbreak of COVID-19 last year, and the subsequent measures implemented by the Namibian government.
High court Judge Kobus Miller, in refusing to hear the application on an urgent basis, also ordered that Gondwana pays the legal costs of Hollard Insurance, before declaring that the matter has been finalised and struck from the court roll.
The judge also ordered that Hollard be entitled to cross examine Gys Joubert, Gondwana’s Managing Director, as well as one Dr Bernard Haufiku as witnesses in court.
“At best for Gondwana, it can be said that its case is one of semi-urgency. The rules of the high court contain no provision for a so called semi-urgent roll. I believe the reason for the absence thereof is to be found in the rules relating to judicial case management. It soon became apparent that there was no way in which Hollard could be persuaded to honour the claim any time soon or even to admit that it was liable apart from quantifying the claim. Gondwana on various occasions threatened to launch urgent proceedings. This dates back to 24 July 2020, 28 July 2020 and 10 September 2020. The only inference to be drawn is that as early as at any of these dates the need for the institution of legal proceedings became a reality. There is simply no explanation why the institution of the proceedings were delayed until December 2020. It is clearly not as a result of the parties trying to reach an amicable solution. It was more of a case of one party attempting to persuade the other of its merits of its stance as far as the claim was concerned, or accusing each other of not complying with its obligations,” Judge Miller said.
According to the judge, Gondwana’s quantification of claim is in limbo because their relief is confined to a declaration that Hollard is liable to compensate them, adding that Gondwana will continue to suffer losses until their claim is quantified.
“How long that will take I am not able to say. Given the facts and circumstances of the case, more weight must be attached to the delay in bringing the proceedings, the issue of substantial redress and the convenience of the court, as well as the issue of procedural fairness,” Judge Miller found.
