Lawyer Wins Court Case, Judge Rules He Doesn’t Have to Pay Back Over R1 Million Loan Interest to Friend

• The Western Cape High Court ruled that a man who borrowed R2.5 million from his friend does not have to pay back interest
• The total interest accumulated on the loan amounted to R1.5 million and despite the man asking for a discount, he was not granted one
• Social media users have expressed mixed reactions to the court ruling, with many convinced friends should not lend or borrow money

WESTERN CAPE - An advocate who borrowed R2.5 million from his close friend in 2015 is legally not required to pay over R1.5 million in interest.

Advocate Colin Stuart Blacher borrowed the large sum of money from David Josephson under the agreement that he would repay the loan with interest. However, the Western Cape High Court found that Josephson had no authority to loan money under the National Credit Act (NCA).

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At the time, the pair signed an agreement indicating how the money would be paid back. Josephson sent R2.5 million in instalments to Blacher, and it was decided that an amount of R3.8 million would be paid back, according to IOL.

By 2018, the advocate had paid over R2.1 million and asked for a discount on the rest of the loan, but was declined. Over the months, the interest continued to grow until Blacher paid back R965 000, leaving Josephson unimpressed. He approached the court for the R1.5 million balance to be repaid.

The matter proceeded to arbitration, and it was ruled that Blacher had to pay the interest. However, he took the ruling on review and in court, Judge Mark Sher found that the signed “contract” was unlawful.

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According to TimesLIVE, when the loan was given, the NCA stated that a credit provider must be registered if the total debt owing was more than R500 000. Judge Sher found that the loan’s capital value required Josephson to be registered as a credit provider.

Mzansi reacts to the matter of friends lending or borrowing money

Sipiwo Pahlane said:

“They were not friends, by the look of things. That it ended up this badly meant the friendship was false.”

Mpho Raphunga commented:

“This is not okay. It's clear his friend meant a lot to him, hence he was able to borrow such a huge amount of money.”

Bella Belle wrote:

“I will never loan a friend that amount of money for any reason.”

Mthobisi Vincent-Mnqobi Sikhakhane posted:

“At least he got his initial loan amount back. Imagine not getting a cent back, because that's what we deal with.”

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Wallace Khabo added:

“Friends don’t charge each other interest. At least he paid back all the money he borrowed.”

Court orders woman to pay ex-husband R1.2m in divorce settlement, lady claims he financially abused her

Briefly News also reported that a lady experienced quite a turn of events when she was ordered by the cour to pay R1.2m in a settlement to her divorced husband.

The former married couple had no children when tying the knot, but the man did bring kids into the marriage. The lady then stated that the man left her to raise the kids mostly alone. The man then divorced her once they had finished their schooling.

Once the husband went through with the divorce proceedings after 16 years of being together, he demanded a few things, including the division of their joint estate and half of her pension fund, which the woman refused.

Source: Briefly News