The applicant, Laerskool Generaal Hendrik Schoeman, a public school in the North West Province, entered into a lease agreement for a photocopier with the respondent, Bastian Financial Services (Pty) Ltd. When amounts became outstanding, the respondent sued the school. The magistrate’s court and the North Gauteng High Court held that, in terms of section 60(1) of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, liability shifted to the State and not the school. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed those decisions and held that section 60(1) did not transfer contractual liability for properly concluded contracts from a public school to the State. The school sought leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court but lodged its application approximately nine months late and applied for condonation.