A Mpumalanga woman whose Mercedes-Benz was hijacked while in the care of a dealership has secured a legal reprieve.
The Mbombela High Court granted her permission to continue her lawsuit, which aims to protect her from additional financial penalties while the court determines who is responsible for the lost vehicle.
Zodwa Maria Mgwenya, the first applicant, and her daughter Ethel Mgwenya, the second applicant, took their 2018 Mercedes-Benz C200 to Garden City Motors Mbombela in July 2022 for a service. But just hours after handing over the keys they were informed that the vehicle had been hijacked.
According to court documents, the dealership, which is the first respondent, informed Zodwa that her vehicle had been hijacked while its employee was test-driving it.
Instead of offering to replace the vehicle or cover the loss, the dealership, officially registered as NMI Durban South Motors, gave the family a courtesy car – only to later demand it back.
When the applicants refused to return the vehicle before the theft was resolved, Garden City Motors launched a successful court bid, known as rei vindicatio to reclaim it.
On December 15, 2023, the Mbombela High Court ordered the Mgwenyas to return the courtesy car. It also directed them to pay the dealership’s legal costs totalling R131 799.
Faced with that judgment, the Mgwenyas turned to the same court for help. They filed an urgent application asking for the enforcement of the earlier ruling to be halted, at least until their main lawsuit against Garden City Motors was finalised. In that matter, the Mgwenyas are demanding the dealership pay them R537 139, the value of the hijacked Mercedes-Benz.
On May 30 this year, the court acceded to their request and so halted the enforcement of its earlier order, citing the need to prevent injustice.
“I am of the view, therefore, that the first applicant laid a proper foundation for contending that an injustice would result if execution was not stayed pending the decision in the main action,” the court ruled. The court noted that while the dealership was entitled to pursue recovery of its legal costs, the matter required the court to weigh this against the applicants’ right to pursue justice.
Garden City Motors argued that it bore no liability for the hijacking, despite the car being in the hands of its employee at the time. It insisted on recovering the courtesy vehicle and enforcing the cost order. The Mgwenyas said they weren’t refusing to pay; they just wanted the court to rule on who was liable for the lost vehicle before judgment is enforced.
The court ruled that the party who wins the main case will also claim the costs of this application.
For now, Zodwa and Ethel remain without their car, but they have secured a fighting chance, free from the immediate threat of financial ruin.
