Reserve owner wants Concourt to rule over death

THE owner of the Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve has approached the Constitutional Court for a decision on whether he was responsible for the death of Italian Pier Alberba Za, who slipped and fell to his death on a snow-covered ridge in the nature reserve in 2009.

The incident happened at Conical Peak, a big tourist attraction because of its accessibility to snow-covered areas during the Cape winter.

Za, 38, and a friend, Benjamin Moggee, drove up the mountain in June 2009 and parked among other vehicles. They headed to a scenic spot, carrying beers and folding chairs. The walk ended in a 150m drop.

Both men slipped on the frozen ground and fell towards the edge. Moggee managed to arrest his fall, but Za went over the edge and was killed.

Za’s widow Federica took court action against the Matroosberg reserve owner, Andrew Frederick Smith, to claim for financial losses suffered through the death of the family’s breadwinner.

The Western Cape High Court dismissed her claim with costs in March last year.

She then took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which overturned the high court decision last month. The court upheld the widow’s case with costs and ruled that the reserve had to compensate her.

Smith’s attorney, Danie Rossouw, said in a statement his client had now approached the Constitutional Court, arguing that the Supreme Court of Appeal had failed to give reasons why the owner was being held liable.

“Za and his friend and business partner, Ben Moggee, drove to the top of conical Peak separately, each in his own 4x4 vehicle. Za, who grew up in the Alps, and had been exposed to snow and ice conditions on mountains since he was a boy, then slipped and fell to his death over a cliff.

“Moggee managed to arrest his fall and survived the incident. It was a terrible and tragic incident, but not the fault of our clients,” Rossouw said.

The attorney said his client contended that none of the warning signs would have informed Za, who had experience of the snow-covered Alps, of anything he did not already know.

Rossouw said if the court decision were allowed to stand, it could have serious consequences for other land owners and operators of adventure tourism such as mountain biking and hiking. He believed the decision set a precedent which would “open the floodgates” to litigation in the tourism industry.

Za’s widow has until July 3 to respond to the motion.