The second appellant, Ms Anita Ernesto Chiau, was injured in a motor vehicle collision on 20 July 2015 and instituted a delictual claim against the Road Accident Fund (RAF), represented by her attorneys, Hough & Bremner Inc (H&B). Prior to litigation, Ms Chiau and H&B concluded a fee agreement in September 2015 providing that legal fees would be payable at the conclusion of the matter, regardless of outcome, and expressly stating that it was not a contingency fee agreement. The claim was settled on 7 March 2022, with the RAF agreeing to pay damages exceeding R1 million, future medical expenses under s 17(4)(a) of the Road Accident Fund Act, and party-and-party costs. When the settlement was presented to the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court to be made an order of court, the court mero motu questioned whether the fee agreement constituted a contingency fee agreement under the Contingency Fees Act 66 of 1997. Despite affidavits from both attorney and client denying any contingency fee arrangement, the high court found that the agreement was a non-compliant contingency fee agreement, set it aside, refused to make the settlement an order of court, and issued further orders against H&B, which was not a party to the proceedings.