Attorney Zuko Nonxuba and his wife Alicia Novelano Nonxuba escaped bankruptcy after the Eastern Cape High Court (East London) dismissed separate applications for their sequestration to pay R49.6m in medical negligence settlement monies.
News24 reports that on Tuesday, the court found the money that Johannesburg-based attorneys’ firm Nonxuba Inc allegedly owed children and their mothers whom they represented in medical negligence cases against the Eastern Cape Health Department, could be recovered from the firm’s trust account, which had a credit balance of R105m.
Judge Denzil Potgieter found there was "no acceptable evidence of a deficit" of funds in the firm’s trust account as claimed by the women, nor could theft of funds be inferred.
Originally, 11 mothers brought the applications on behalf of their children who suffered harm due to medical negligence by healthcare workers in Eastern Cape hospitals. However, Potgieter’s judgment affected only three women.
The women allegedly did not receive monies paid to the firm for their benefit in settlement of civil damages claims. They claimed Nonxuba had pocketed the money.
Five other women had terminated their attorneys’ mandates and did not take any further part in the applications. The child of another woman had died, removing her right to be part of the applications.
The Special Investigating Unit has also initiated proceedings in the Eastern Cape High Court (Mthatha) to rescind the damages awards made to two other mothers on behalf of their children.
Nonxuba is suspended from practising as an attorney following an order of the Western Cape High Court and amidst allegations that he misappropriated R348m from settlements paid out to his severely disabled child clients.
The Legal Practice Council (LPC) has yet to finalise an application for his permanent removal from the roll of legal practitioners.
Alicia stopped practising as an attorney after the LPC refused to issue her with a fidelity fund certificate, a prerequisite for practising.
She appealed a Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) finding in a review hearing which ruled in favour of the LPC decision.
Potgieter said the amounts owed to the women and children were variously indicated as "R198m, more than R180m or more than R300m".
He said:
At worst, it would be their entire awards amounting to R49.6m. This is, however, far from clear and it is not supported by any direct evidence.
The final amounts due would also depend on contingency fee agreements in favour of Nonxuba Inc averaging up to 40% of the awards, and amounts due to the firm’s trust creditors.
News24 – Millionaire lawyer Zuko Nonxuba escapes sequestration, but move to bar him from practising rolls on