Transtech Shipping and Logistics (Pty) Ltd and Another v Keevy N.O. and Others

The applicants, two related logistics companies, brought an urgent application for a mandament van spolie seeking the immediate return of vehicles, trailers and other assets removed from their premises by the first and second respondents, who were joint liquidators of a related company, Trans-Tech Logistics (Pty) Ltd (in liquidation). The respondents relied on a notarial bond registered in favour of Hollard Insurance Company Limited when removing the assets for storage. Despite the applicants protesting that the assets belonged to them and to third parties, the removal proceeded. After correspondence, the respondents tendered the return of all assets except three trucks and a van, but the applicants rejected the tender and launched urgent proceedings.

The application was struck from the roll for lack of urgency, and the applicants were ordered jointly and severally to pay the respondents’ costs on the attorney-and-client scale.

The judgment reinforces the strict requirements for urgency in spoliation applications and confirms that speculative harm and conclusory allegations are insufficient. It also underscores that mandament van spolie proceedings must focus on possession rather than ownership or contractual rights, and that courts may impose punitive costs where urgent proceedings are misused.