In these notes, I show you exactly how to draft a combined summons in both the High Court and the Magistrate’s Court, where the cause of action is based on the breach of an agreement.
Included herein are both High Court and Magistrate's Court summons templates.
DRAFTING A COMBINED SUMMONS WHERE THE CAUSE
OF ACTION IS THE BREACH OF AN AGREEMENT
Take note that nothing in this booklet constitutes legal advice or advice of any kind.
Readers must consult official and alternative sources before making any decisions based
on the information provided herein. Templates and examples provided by us are merely a
guideline and nothing more. We will not accept any liability whatsoever.
Take note further that this booklet is intended for personal use only and that the
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1. Introduction
Not all combined summonses will look the same. There are so many different
types of claims that can affect the way you formulate your particulars of claim.
For example, the particulars of claim in which a divorce is sought will differ to the
particulars of a damages claim.
Today we will be drafting a combined summons where the cause of action is
based on the breach of an agreement. The relief sought will be the payment of
an amount, together with interest and costs.
2. The summons
A combined summons consists of a summons and the annexed particulars of
claim. Whereas in a simple summons, the brief particulars of the claim are set
out in the summons itself, in the combined summons, the particulars of the claim
are set out in much greater detail in the annexed pleading known as the
particulars of claim.
Considering the above, the summons itself will look slightly different to the simple
summons.
I have already mentioned that we will be issuing summons due to the breach of
a written agreement. Let’s pretend that in terms of the agreement, our client
would render services for the defendant at an agreed price. The defendant
breached the agreement and due to said breach, R500,000.00 is due to our
client. Due to the amount claimed, we will be in the High Court. Let’s go with
Joburg this time.
After we have drafted the High Court combined summons, I will briefly show you
the respects in which a combined summons in the Magistrate’s Court will differ.
3. High Court combined summons
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3.1. The heading
The heading of your summons will look exactly the same as the heading of
a simple summons, except above the Court’s citation, we will put the words
“Combined Summons”.
In our last episode, the parties were both natural persons. Let’s go with two
companies this time.
Our client will be ABC (Pty) Ltd and the defendant will be XYZ (Pty) Ltd.
Remember to include the parties’ registration numbers when identifying
them as plaintiff and defendant. Again, this is not strictly necessary, but if
you have the information on file, just do it.
Also note that many companies have a registered name as well as a trading
name. For example, XYZ (Pty) Ltd could trade as XYZ Services. If you have
this information in your possession, cite both the registered and trading
name.
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Have a look at how we would cite a defendant with both a registered and
trading name:
Insert a horizontal line after the parties’ names and you have your heading.
For more information on a summons heading, download our notes on the
simple summons.
3.2. Instruction to the Sheriff
The summons part of the combined summons is once again an instruction
to the sheriff to inform the defendant of certain particulars and to serve a
copy of the summons on it.
So, we will instruct the sheriff or their deputy to inform… who? Well, the
defendant, obviously. Remember the Rules prescribe certain information
that must be included in the citation of the parties.
The defendant is a company. Let’s say it has its registered address and
principal place of business at 14 Cadavar Road, Randburg, Johannesburg,
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