Dream Supreme Properties 11CC v Nedcor Bank Limited and Others

The third respondent owned immovable property in Camps Bay. After default judgments were granted against him in favour of Nedcor Bank Limited and another creditor, he had earlier purportedly sold the property to his wife, who nominated the appellant, Dream Supreme Properties 11CC, as purchaser. Transfer was never effected and the seller remained the registered owner. Nedcor Bank, aware of the alleged prior sale, attached the property in execution of its judgment and the property was sold in execution to the second respondent, an innocent purchaser. The appellant applied to set aside the attachment and the sale in execution, relying on its alleged prior personal right to claim transfer.

The application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs; the dismissal of the appellant’s application to set aside the attachment and sale in execution was confirmed.

The case authoritatively establishes that the doctrine of notice does not apply to attachments and sales in execution. It clarifies the priority between personal rights arising from prior sales and the real rights acquired by judgment creditors, reinforcing certainty and effectiveness of execution sales in South African law.