LPC defends handling of lawyer
The Legal Practice Council (LPC) has denied that it adopted a “languid approach” in its handling of a lawyer, alleged to have stolen R348 million paid out by the department of health in medical negligence claims of children born with cerebral palsy.
Although complaints were first received about Zuko Nonxuba 10 years ago, in 2013, the LPC has blamed Covid, stalling tactics by Nonxuba, and his protracted appeals against a court order granted in April 2022 suspending him from practice and appointing a curator to investigate and handle potential claims. Nonxuba’s appeals took 19 months to resolve.
“The actions that the LPC can take against any errant legal practitioner are prescribed by law. The matters have been seriously litigated and time-consuming. However, that is the nature of the legal process,” Janine Myburgh, chairperson of the South African Legal Practice Council, says in an affidavit which recently came before the High Court in Johannesburg.
The affidavit was filed in response to an urgent application, launched on behalf of two claimants, by a team of lawyers – acting without charging fees for victims of the disgraced attorney – in which they sought an order for the appointment of another curator to take control of tracing potential claimants and disbursing what is left in Nonxuba Inc’s trust account.
That application was ultimately withdrawn. This was after the LPC, which opposed the application, filed a supplementary affidavit with an “implementation plan” setting out strict timelines to expedite payments to the children.
To date, there were about 30 medical negligence claimants but Nonxuba Inc had also litigated against the Road Accident Fund and the council was investigating about 44 claims.
Myburgh said there is about R80.5 million available for distribution to claimants.
In the event that there is not enough money to pay the full amounts of verified claims, the Fidelity Fund is to distribute the money on a pro rata basis and to consider covering the shortfall.