B[…] E[…] v N[…] T[…] and Others

The appellant (BE) and the first respondent (NT) were married out of community of property subject to the accrual system in 2018. The marriage broke down in late 2023 and NT instituted divorce proceedings in the Western Cape High Court. Pending the divorce, NT brought a rule 43 application seeking interim maintenance pendente lite for herself and her two minor children from a previous marriage, a contribution to legal costs, and related relief. The High Court granted the relief, including substantial interim maintenance for the children, finding that BE had assumed a parental role and corresponding duty of support as a stepparent. BE sought to appeal the rule 43 order, particularly the obligation to maintain the stepchildren. Leave to appeal was granted on petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal, limited to that issue.

The appeal was struck from the roll with costs for lack of jurisdiction.

The case reaffirms that rule 43 maintenance pendente lite orders are generally not appealable due to their interim nature and the express statutory bar in s 16(3) of the Superior Courts Act. It clarifies that the interests of justice cannot be invoked to bypass a clear legislative exclusion of appellate jurisdiction. The judgment strengthens principles against piecemeal appeals in matrimonial disputes and underscores the limited scope of appellate intervention in interim family law matters.