Georgiou a ‘saboteur’

‘COURT HIJACK’: PROPERTY MAGNATE PLOT FALLS APART

Attempt to head off a class action suit receives tongue-lashing from judge.

The South Gauteng High Court has slammed property magnate Nic Georgiou’s attempt to scuttle a looming class action suit in the Orthotouch scandal as an “act to sabotage”.

Judge Mohamed Ismail’s ruling follows a bizarre turn of events wherein Georgiou settled claims of six applicants, who represented about 7 000 other members of the Highveld Syndication Action Group (HSAG) late last year.

Business blew the whistle on the attempted sabotage when it happened.

After their claims were settled, the six applicants secretly appointed new attorneys and applied to the court to withdraw their original application against Georgiou and Orthotouch.

This was done without notifying the HSAG legal team.

If this application had succeeded, it would have ended the HSAG class action suit.

When HSAG attorney Jacques Theron became aware of the developments, he warned Georgiou wanted to “buy off” the applicants and “hijack” the class action suit.

He said the six applicants were mere representatives of the 7 000 HSAG members and could not withdraw the application in their personal capacity.

Judge Ismail agreed and had some harsh words in his judgement: “The court was requested to intervene in light of the alleged abuse by Mr Georgiou who it was submitted devised the scheme by using Mr Donnenberg (the new lawyer of the six applicants) to withdraw the main application thereby setting back the current application and delaying and prolonging the class action. It was submitted that the court cannot sit back by indifferently and nonchalantly permitting this type of abuse and egregious conduct by a litigant against others rights.

“This is exacerbated by Donnenberg’s withdrawal of the main application without informing Mr Theron or the HSAG thereof timeously. This ‘scheme or stratagem’ smacked of collusive behaviour on the part of Mr Georgiou and Mr Donnenberg to rid themselves of the HSAG investors claims.

“The withdrawal by the nominal applicants of the action was nothing other than an act to sabotage the claim of the other investors, in the form of the HSAG. This court cannot idly sit by and observe or countenance such conduct designed to deprive the investors of their rights to proceed with any intended action.”

Theron said the next step is to compel business rescue practitioner Hans Klopper to provide the names of the Highveld Syndication investors to the HSAG.

Georgiou did not respond to emailed questions.