The plaintiff, Mr Pathmanathan Runganathan Naidoo, is the son and descendant of the late Runga Nattan, who owned several properties in Durban, Pinetown and surrounding areas. These properties were dispossessed between 1963 and 1982 as a result of racially discriminatory laws and practices. In March 1997 the plaintiff lodged restitution claims under the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994. The claims were accepted as valid. In October/November 2002, following representations by officials of the Land Claims Commission that a maximum of R50 000 per property was payable, the plaintiff entered into a section 42D settlement agreement with the State and accepted R500 000 in full and final settlement (R50 000 per property). In 2007 the plaintiff received correspondence from the Commission indicating that the R50 000 figure had not taken property size into account and that larger properties should have attracted proportionally higher compensation. After later gaining access to the section 42D framework memorandum and valuation reports, the plaintiff alleged that the earlier representations were false and misleading. He sought to have the settlement agreement set aside or declared void, alternatively to have just and equitable compensation determined.