A farmer who lost a legal battle against Buffalo City Metro is to appeal the judgment two years later.
Roger Smith wanted to buy back a portion of land from BCM that he had sold it earlier.
BCM lawyer and acting East London magistrate Leon Kemp has confirmed receiving Smith’s papers. “We are currently waiting for Smith to file copies of the record, after which he applies for an appeal date in Grahamstown.”
The two parties have been in and out of court for 10 years over the 49ha plot Smith sold the metro in 1999.
He first took the council to court after discovering that the land, which the council bought for a cemetery development, was later deemed unsuitable for a cemetery and left undeveloped by the council.
According to court papers Smith was forced to sell the land to BCM under threat of expropriation, so Smith wanted to buy his land back but was blocked by outstanding legal disputes.
In 2015 Smith – who is a lawyer by profession – lost the case with legal costs in the region of R3-million.
In the application for leave to appeal Smith is listed as first applicant while a company called GPR Properties is the second applicant.
GPR Properties is owned by businessmen Gert Van Niekerk, Peter Warren and Ronnie Coetzee, who are listed as third, fourth and fifth applicants.
The trio are funding the application together with GPR Properties.
Kemp said many people were interested in buying the land, which he said was initially earmarked for the construction of Hemingways mall.
Kemp said the land was estimated to be worth up to R49-million. BCM paid Smith R760000 for it in May 1999.
In 2002 the municipality scrapped the cemetery plan after an engineering report found the ground was so rocky that heavy earth-moving equipment would be required to dig graves.
Since July 2005, when he became aware of the council decision not to proceed with the cemetery, Smith has been demanding retransfer of the property to himself.
At the time, Judge Irma Schoeman criticised Smith for “unreasonable delay” in bringing the matter before court, for indifference, for not exercising “reasonable care” in his dealings with the metro, for negligence and for lack of diligence. She said Smith ought to have known of the procedural rules the council had to follow before acquiring his property.
Because she found Smith’s claim had passed the deadline for it to be brought to court, Schoeman did not deal with the merits of Smith’s case that he had been misled when he agreed to sell, believing the land would be used for a public purpose as a cemetery.
In 2015 the municipality revealed its new plan – to use the land for a fire station to serve Gonubie and Beacon Bay. Kemp said the move was blocked by Smith’s threat to interdict them.
“So we told him there won’t be a need and we decided to cease our plans until the matter is finalised in court.”
Smith could not be reached for comment as he was said to be on holiday in Indonesia. — malibongwed@dispoatch.co.za
New twist in 18-year BCM land saga
Roger Smith wanted to buy back a portion of land from BCM that he had sold it earlier.
BCM lawyer and acting East London magistrate Leon Kemp has confirmed receiving Smith’s papers. “We are currently waiting for Smith to file copies of the record, after which he applies for an appeal date in Grahamstown.”
The two parties have been in and out of court for 10 years over the 49ha plot Smith sold the metro in 1999.
He first took the council to court after discovering that the land, which the council bought for a cemetery development, was later deemed unsuitable for a cemetery and left undeveloped by the council.
According to court papers Smith was forced to sell the land to BCM under threat of expropriation, so Smith wanted to buy his land back but was blocked by outstanding legal disputes.
In 2015 Smith – who is a lawyer by profession – lost the case with legal costs in the region of R3-million.
In the application for leave to appeal Smith is listed as first applicant while a company called GPR Properties is the second applicant.
GPR Properties is owned by businessmen Gert Van Niekerk, Peter Warren and Ronnie Coetzee, who are listed as third, fourth and fifth applicants.
The trio are funding the application together with GPR Properties.
Kemp said many people were interested in buying the land, which he said was initially earmarked for the construction of Hemingways mall.
Kemp said the land was estimated to be worth up to R49-million. BCM paid Smith R760000 for it in May 1999.
In 2002 the municipality scrapped the cemetery plan after an engineering report found the ground was so rocky that heavy earth-moving equipment would be required to dig graves.
Since July 2005, when he became aware of the council decision not to proceed with the cemetery, Smith has been demanding retransfer of the property to himself.
At the time, Judge Irma Schoeman criticised Smith for “unreasonable delay” in bringing the matter before court, for indifference, for not exercising “reasonable care” in his dealings with the metro, for negligence and for lack of diligence. She said Smith ought to have known of the procedural rules the council had to follow before acquiring his property.
Because she found Smith’s claim had passed the deadline for it to be brought to court, Schoeman did not deal with the merits of Smith’s case that he had been misled when he agreed to sell, believing the land would be used for a public purpose as a cemetery.
In 2015 the municipality revealed its new plan – to use the land for a fire station to serve Gonubie and Beacon Bay. Kemp said the move was blocked by Smith’s threat to interdict them.
“So we told him there won’t be a need and we decided to cease our plans until the matter is finalised in court.”
Smith could not be reached for comment as he was said to be on holiday in Indonesia. — malibongwed@dispoatch.co.za
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