Derick Gerrit Barnard v The Executive Committee of Wedgewood Golf Estate Homeowners Association

The Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) received an application for dispute resolution dated 17 August 2023 from Derick Gerrit Barnard against the Executive Committee of Wedgewood Golf Estate Homeowners Association. The dispute concerned maintenance and cleaning issues within the community scheme. Before adjudication on the merits, the applicant requested that the application be withdrawn because the dispute had been resolved internally between the parties. This was confirmed by correspondence from the applicant dated 22 January 2024 and by telephonic confirmation on the same date.

• Whether the matter should remain on the adjudication roll after the applicant requested withdrawal following an internal resolution of the dispute.
• What procedural order should be made under sections 53 and 54 of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 where the dispute has been settled and no live controversy remains.

The matter was removed from the roll and the file was closed.

Where a CSOS applicant withdraws the application because the dispute has been resolved internally and there is no remaining live dispute for adjudication, the appropriate course is to remove the matter from the roll and close the file rather than determine the merits.

No substantive obiter dicta appear from the order. The adjudicator merely recorded that the matter was adjudicated under the amended Practice Directive for Dispute Resolution, 2019, and that the parties were afforded an opportunity to provide final written submissions.

The order illustrates CSOS practice where a dispute is resolved internally before a merits determination: the adjudicator may make a procedural order removing the matter from the roll rather than deciding substantive rights. It reflects the Ombud Service's role as a dispute-resolution forum for community schemes and the preference for internal settlement where possible.