R10 million gone: SCA rejects man's bid to recover money stolen from attorney's trust account

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has rejected a man's attempt to recover R10 million from the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund. The man, RL, had deposited the money into the trust account of attorneys Turnbull and Associates in April 2011 for a proposed share purchase that did not happen. The money was later stolen. The Fidelity Fund denied RL's claim in 2014, arguing he failed to provide written notice within the required three-month window after discovering the theft.

RL claimed he only learned of the theft on September 2, 2013, when he obtained business-account statements. The SCA upheld the Fidelity Fund's stance, finding that RL had already known about the theft by November 28, 2012, and did not need to wait for the business-account statements to notify the Fund. RL later petitioned a review application, arguing the Fund had improperly extended the deadline.

In January 2024, the South Gauteng High Court extended the period to October 7, 2013, based on the subjective belief of the theft occurring when RL received the business-account statements in September 2013. However, the SCA ruled that the High Court had no authority to make this order, as it contradicted the earlier factual finding of the appeal court.

The SCA upheld the Fidelity Fund's decision, rejecting RL's claim and dismissing his review application, citing the "once-and-for-all" rule in common law.