The
dispute in
casu
is steeped in the sale of a deceased immovable property whose
purchase price was paid by the applicant but transfer of which the
respondent failed to effect. The draft order the applicant seeks is
couched in these words:
“IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1.
The respondent is hereby ordered to deliver and register a four
roomed house; ...
The
dispute in
casu
is steeped in the sale of a deceased immovable property whose
purchase price was paid by the applicant but transfer of which the
respondent failed to effect. The draft order the applicant seeks is
couched in these words:
“IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1.
The respondent is hereby ordered to deliver and register a four
roomed house; comprising two bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and a
toilet in either Nyameni, Dombotombo, Rujeko or Rusike high density
Suburbs of Marondera, to the plaintiff (sic)
within thirty (30) working days of this order.
2.
In the event of the respondent failing to perform in accordance with
para 1 above, the applicant is hereby empowered to execute this order
against respondent's property.
3.
The respondent to pay costs of suit on a client legal practitioner
scale.”
THE
FACTS
The
respondent is a co-director of Pricassons Investments (Pvt) Ltd, a
company, as can be gleaned
from its letterheads, whose core business is buying and selling of
Stands and houses, developers and brokers, driving school, car hire,
dealers in imported new and used cars, trucks and mini buses and
construction of agreements of sale.
In
December 2007, the respondent, acting on behalf of Joseph Tsamwayi,
the appointed executor of the estate of the late Patrick Tsamwayi,
entered into an agreement of sale with the applicant in terms of
annexure A1-A5 wherein the applicant purchased Stand Number 8 Dziva,
Dombotombo, Marondera for a purchase price of Z$18 billion. The
salient terms of annexure A1-A5 are:-
(i)
Clause 2(c), providing that all the moneys shall be deposited into
Pricassons (Pvt) Ltd's Standard Chartered account number
0100254284900;
(ii)
Clause 9, providing that in the event of the seller breaching any
term or condition of this agreement and the seller fails to remedy
the breach within 7 days of written notice to do so, then, without
prejudice to his rights at law, the purchaser shall be entitled to
either cancel the agreement and claim damages which shall be equal to
the value of purchasing a similar comparable property at the time of
such claim or seek an order of specific performance;
(iii)
Clause 10, providing that the seller shall cede all rights in the
property to the purchaser within three months of signing this
agreement which time it is anticipated the seller would have been
issued with the certificate of authority by the Master of the High
Court; and
(iv)
Clause 11, providing that the agent, Mr Patson Nawasha, of Pricassons
(Private) Limited hereby undertakes and guarantees that the seller
will perform as per the agreement, and, in the event of any material
breach, he will be jointly responsible with the
seller in paying damages to the purchaser.
The
applicant paid the full purchase price for the house, which was brick
under asbestos, composed of two bedrooms, kitchen, lounge and toilet.
The
respondent failed to fulfil his part of the agreement and admitted
that he had sold a deceased estate house which had a dispute – the
minor children of the deceased having refused to approve of the sale.
On
4 July 2008 the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(annexure 'B') clause two of which stipulated that the respondent
would deliver to the applicant an alternative house within 14 days of
signing of the memorandum. Despite this undertaking, the respondent
still did not deliver the alternative house. On 26 July 2008 the
respondent wrote to the applicant and her then husband, Gideon
Muchada, reiterating that he wanted to honour his undertaking in
annexure 'B' vide annexure 'C'. However, to date the
respondent has not fulfilled his undertaking.
THE
DEFENCE
In
his opposing papers, as well as the heads of argument, the respondent
basically raised three issues or defences.
The
first is that there exists a material dispute of fact which cannot be
resolved on the papers without hearing viva
voce
evidence. This is premised on the allegation by the respondent that
the applicant averred that the respondent knew that the estate
property had a dispute and despite that knowledge he fraudulently
misrepresented to the applicant to enter into the contract of sale.
Because the respondent disputes this averment this necessitates the
hearing of viva
voce
evidence.
The
second issue raised is one of supervening impossibility. This is
premised on the fact that the purchase price was deposited into the
respondent's trust account and it remained there until the Zimbabwe
dollar currency became moribund through no fault of the respondent.
This was out of his control hence constitutes a supervening
impossibility to perform. He could not provide the alternative house
he had guaranteed to do because the purchase price paid had been
rendered valueless.
The
third issue raised relates to non-joinder of the principal, viz
Joseph Tsamwayi. For this averment, the respondent relies on clause
11 of the agreement of sale alluded to supra,
viz that in the event of any material breach of the agreement by the
seller the respondent will be jointly responsible with the seller in
paying damages to the purchaser. The non-joinder of the seller, so
the argument went, is fatal to the application.
Mr
Mahuni
is
from the law firm Matsanura and Associates who are corresponding
attorneys of Messrs Laita and Partners representing the respondent.
The latter firm drafted the respondent's opposing papers including
the heads of argument. At the hearing of argument Mr Mahuni conceded,
correctly in my view, that the averments that there exist a material
dispute of fact and also supervening impossibility have no legal leg
to stand on. The concession's propriety is hinged on the fact that
the alleged material dispute of fact is misplaced because the
applicant's cause of action is founded not on the agreement of sale
annexure 'A1-A5' but on annexures 'B' and 'C' and also
that for more than a year the purchase price lay in the respondent's
trust account without the respondent either purchasing an alternative
house for the applicant or reversing the transfer of the deposited
funds.
The
sole issue that is left for my resolution is the one relating to the
alleged non-joinder of the principal.