TLI4801
Assignment 1
Semester 2
Unique No: 642661
DUE 21 August 2025
, TLI4801 – ASSIGNMENT 01 – SEMESTER 2
Due date: 21 August 2025
Unique number: 642661
QUESTION 1
FACTS (short): ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd supplied cables to Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd on 1
February 2025. Payment was due 60 days after delivery. Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd admits
the debt and signs an Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) but later defaults. Amount
owing: R1,500,000. You represent ADB Cables and must decide how best to recover.
1(a) Would you advise ADB Cables to use the provisional-sentence procedure?
(5)
Short answer (practical recommendation).
Yes — but conditionally. I would prefer provisional sentence if the Acknowledgement of
Debt (AOD) is an unambiguous, written, signed acknowledgment by the company (or
person with authority), specifying a fixed sum or a formula to calculate a fixed sum and
leaving no need for extrinsic evidence to prove the debt. If any doubt exists about the
AOD’s clarity, the signatory’s authority, or if there is a credible defence on the face of the
documents, start with an ordinary action (with the AOD annexed) and reserve the option
of seeking summary judgment/provisional relief only once the pleadings show
provisional relief is appropriate.
Why (legal and tactical reasons).
1. Nature of provisional sentence. The provisional sentence remedy is designed
for claims founded on liquid documentary debt (a “liquid document”) and is an
extraordinary, summary remedy: it grants provisional, immediately executable
judgment based on the document and plaintiff’s affidavit unless the defendant
raises a bona fide defence. It is therefore a powerful debt-collection tool where
the document meets the strict test.
Assignment 1
Semester 2
Unique No: 642661
DUE 21 August 2025
, TLI4801 – ASSIGNMENT 01 – SEMESTER 2
Due date: 21 August 2025
Unique number: 642661
QUESTION 1
FACTS (short): ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd supplied cables to Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd on 1
February 2025. Payment was due 60 days after delivery. Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd admits
the debt and signs an Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) but later defaults. Amount
owing: R1,500,000. You represent ADB Cables and must decide how best to recover.
1(a) Would you advise ADB Cables to use the provisional-sentence procedure?
(5)
Short answer (practical recommendation).
Yes — but conditionally. I would prefer provisional sentence if the Acknowledgement of
Debt (AOD) is an unambiguous, written, signed acknowledgment by the company (or
person with authority), specifying a fixed sum or a formula to calculate a fixed sum and
leaving no need for extrinsic evidence to prove the debt. If any doubt exists about the
AOD’s clarity, the signatory’s authority, or if there is a credible defence on the face of the
documents, start with an ordinary action (with the AOD annexed) and reserve the option
of seeking summary judgment/provisional relief only once the pleadings show
provisional relief is appropriate.
Why (legal and tactical reasons).
1. Nature of provisional sentence. The provisional sentence remedy is designed
for claims founded on liquid documentary debt (a “liquid document”) and is an
extraordinary, summary remedy: it grants provisional, immediately executable
judgment based on the document and plaintiff’s affidavit unless the defendant
raises a bona fide defence. It is therefore a powerful debt-collection tool where
the document meets the strict test.
