Rowland and Others v Logos Carriers CC

Logos Carriers CC purchased Portion 79 of the Farm Morningstar No. 141 in 2019 at a public auction and took transfer in May 2020. When it sought access, it was refused entry by persons occupying the property, including Raycaldo Rowland and others. Logos terminated any consent to occupy in 2021 after inviting representations under ESTA and repeatedly offering mediation, which the occupiers ignored. The occupiers asserted ESTA protection and resisted eviction, claiming vulnerable personal circumstances. Logos instituted eviction proceedings under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997 (ESTA) in the Land Court. The Land Court granted an eviction order in August 2023 and dismissed a counter-claim for court-supervised mediation and an application to strike out evidence. Partial leave to appeal was granted on interlocutory issues. The appellants later sought to amplify their grounds of appeal to raise jurisdictional and citation points. The Supreme Court of Appeal considered appeals against the interlocutory refusals, the application to amplify grounds, and an application for leave to appeal against the eviction order itself.

All appeals and applications were dismissed with costs, including the appeals against the refusal of mediation and strike-out applications, the application to amplify grounds of appeal, and the application for leave to appeal against the eviction order. The first, second and fourth appellants were ordered to pay costs jointly and severally.

The case clarifies that s 21 of ESTA does not empower courts to compel mediation and confirms that voluntary mediation remains party-driven for proceedings instituted before the 2024 amendments. It reinforces pleading and evidentiary requirements for raising ESTA income-threshold jurisdictional challenges and affirms that parties cannot approbate and reprobate by invoking ESTA protections and later denying occupier status. The judgment also confirms the Land Court’s ancillary jurisdiction and endorses the standard practice of citing unnamed occupiers defined by reference to a property.