Pub goes to court over dispute

‘Angry neighbour harassing patrons’

zelda.venter@inl.co.za A PIZZA outlet in Villieria approached the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, after the owners became fed-up with a neighbour who they claimed had been harassing them and their patrons for years.

Picasso’s Pub and Pizzeria asked the court to interdict Jacobus van der Merwe, 50, from intimidating and threatening the outlet’s staff and patrons by telling them he would beat them up.

It also wants Van der Merwe to stop laying false complaints with the metro police and SAPS against the eatery and its patrons.

One of the pizzeria owners’ biggest gripes is that Van der Merwe had installed CCTV cameras outside his home, turned at such an angle that they record what transpired at the pizzeria in Pierneef Street.

The court was told the pizzeria and pub had been in existence for 23 years. The present owners bought the outlet in 2008, but the problems between Van der Merwe and the outlet started long before that.

Van der Merwe lived directly across the street from the pizzeria and he and the owners never saw eye to eye. It was said that Van der Merwe had several times in the past reported the outlet to the authorities, but nothing ever came of these complaints.

Due to the outlet’s limited parking space, its clients used to park on the pavement in front of Van der Merwe’s house.

This did not go down well with Van der Merwe, as the patrons used to litter the place with empty bottles and cigarette butts. Van der Merwe had since erected poles along the pavement so it can no longer be used for parking.

He also complained about the loud noise emanating from the restaurant, which disturbed the peace and quiet of the neighbourhood.

The owners of the pizzeria said what bothered them most was that the CCTV cameras he had now installed, faced directly towards the restaurant. Van der Merwe said it was installed as a safety measure against the high crime in the area.

The owners of the outlet asked him to turn the cameras so that they would face away from the restaurant, but he said this would be too costly.

There is a huge factual dispute between Van der Merwe and the owners of the restaurant, which the parties said cannot be resolved via court papers.

It was argued that all the parties concerned should give oral evidence so that the court could determine who spoke the truth.

The dispute between the parties has been raging for the past nine years and lawyers acting for the restaurant did write to Van der Merwe and asked him to stop harassing the staff and the patrons.

This did not help matters. Acting Judge MJ Mosopa said the outlet had a right to protect its rights, that of its employees and its patrons and to conduct business in a free and safe environment.

The judge said Van der Merwe will not be prejudiced if he was at this stage interdicted from intimidating or threatening the staff and patrons.

The matter can then return to court at a later stage when all involved will take the witness stand as to establish the facts and to put an end to this animosity once and for all, he said.

The judge, however, ruled in favour of Van der Merwe regarding his CCTV cameras. He accepted there was a lot of crime in the area and CCTV footage assisted police in catching criminals.