Joan Marie Muller and Another v Cara Dorothy Masureik and Others

The first applicant, Joan Marie Muller, has been engaged in long‑running divorce proceedings since 2010 with her husband, Howard Alexander Muller, to whom she is married out of community of property with the accrual system. The matrimonial home, purchased by Mr Muller in 2003 and registered solely in his name, was sold in March 2022 to the first and second respondents while the divorce was still pending. Despite being informed of the sale, the first applicant refused to vacate, asserting that the property formed a substantial part of her pending accrual claim. After transfer to the respondents in June 2022 and failed negotiations, the respondents instituted eviction proceedings under the PIE Act. The High Court granted eviction and refused leave to appeal. A petition to the SCA was also refused, prompting an application for reconsideration under s 17(2)(f) of the Superior Courts Act.

The application for reconsideration was dismissed and the order of the SCA refusing leave to appeal was confirmed. The applicants were ordered to pay the respondents’ costs jointly and severally.

The judgment clarifies that a spouse’s accrual claim does not confer a right of occupation or a quasi‑proprietary interest enforceable against third parties prior to divorce. It reinforces the limited and exceptional nature of reconsideration under s 17(2)(f) of the Superior Courts Act following its amendment, and confirms that the doctrine of notice cannot be used to override registered ownership in the absence of a vested right.