Farmers win court case over fire damage
2005-03-09
TWO local farmers have successfully sued the government and other authorities for liability for damages sustained during a veld fire in February 1999.
Hennie Durr of Hartebeeskraal and Nick and Penny Taylor of Tweefontein in Klein Drakenstein launched a civil suit against the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board and the City of Cape Town as well as Safcol, after a fire which started near the Wemmershoek Dam, swept through their farms.
In his verdict in the Cape Supreme Court, Judge Burton Fourie observed that it had been difficult to establish who was in control of the land on which the fire originated and whether the strike of Safcol workers at the time, had contributed to the fire.
The fire started on an “island” in the bed of the Wemmershoek River, below the dam, and was driven northwards by the wind onto Safcol and Nature Conservation land.
The “island” was formed when the natural flow of the Wemmershoek River (which is the border of the properties) was altered some time ago.
It was established that the land on which the fire started was the property of the City of Cape Town, which also owns the dam, but bordered on Safcol land.
At the time of the fire, Working for Water workers were clearing the bush in the area on behalf of Water Affairs, and took their instructions from Nature Conservation.
The fire started in the vicinity where workers regularly made cooking fires, despite a ban on open fires instituted by the Regional Director of Forestry that summer.
A number of suits between the different parties were consolidated in the hearing.
Judge Fourie ruled that the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, and Cape Nature Conservation, were jointly liable to pay damages to Durr and Taylor, but the claim against Safcol was dismissed.
In addition, the Minister and Cape Nature Conservation are liable for 75% of the legal costs of the farmers and Safcol, while the City of Cape Town must pay 25% of the costs.
Safcol is to be remunerated for damage sustained on the farm Zachariashoek at a similar ratio by the said defendants.
The value of the damages (about R3,5 million for Durr and R1,073,875 (including interest) for Taylor, plus the legal costs (about R750,000 is claimed) will be adjudicated upon in a separate suit.
Durr and Taylor were represented by Uys van der Hoven of Van der Spuy & Partners in Paarl.
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