Selwyn Zackon, a Partner at Ashersons, joined the firm in 1985.
Selwyn’s expertise lie in commercial law, franchising, property and litigation. His extensive understanding of company law and commerce has enabled Selwyn to become an astute commercial and property lawyer, and litigator.
He has an excellent knowledge of intellectual property law, including franchising, copyrights, trademarks and patents, and is one of a few lawyers who is a specialist in liquor licences.
Recent Articles by Selwyn Zackon
A “Running Down” Damages Claim – Elite Athlete v Happy Snapper 2 December 2022 - An elite runner competing in a race along Sea Point’s iconic Promenade collides with a pedestrian out for a Sunday walk with a friend. The pedestrian’s good deed – agreeing to take a group photo for some “Fun Walk” participants – lands her in hospital awaiting a hip replacement operation. She sues both the runner […]
Creditors: How to Secure Your Claim with a Notarial Bond 5 October 2022 - You should always take as much security for your claims as you possibly can before advancing credit or lending money to a debtor. That’s because if your debtor fails and is “liquidated” (if a corporate) or “sequestrated” (if an individual), without security you will have only a concurrent claim in the estate. And with a […]
Debtor Not Paying? Consider a Liquidation Application 1 March 2022 - Bad debt is a major issue for many businesses in these hard economic times – not taking robust steps to collect it could be fatal to your own financial position. So if you are being given the run-around by a recalcitrant corporate debtor, take advice on whether an appropriate and cost-effective remedy for you might […]
Can Your Tenant Claim a Lockdown Rental Remission? 12 January 2022 - The Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns and restrictions have impacted negatively on many businesses, and there has been much uncertainty as to whether commercial tenants of leased property are entitled to claim a remission of rental if their trading activities are curtailed. A recent High Court decision of Trustees for the time being of […]
Bodies Corporate: Before You Sequestrate to Recover Arrears 5 July 2021 - One of a Body Corporate’s fundamental duties is to collect monthly levies from the scheme’s members, and to take robust action to recover any arrears. As with any other creditor/debtor relationship however, trying to recover debt can be an exercise in frustration and delay, and the more recalcitrant the debtor, the greater the temptation to […]
Companies: Are Restraints of Trade Valid in a Time of Covid? 13 May 2021 - Consider this unhappy (but not unlikely) scenario: For whatever reason, you part ways with your fellow director/shareholder (or perhaps a key employee), who goes off immediately to join (or found) the opposition. Now you have a major problem – he/she was privy to all your trade secrets and confidential information and they are now being […]
When Company Directors and Shareholders Come to Blows 1 April 2021 - In companies both large and small, relationships between shareholders and directors can and do run into difficulty occasionally. When that happens, you have several remedies to choose from in the Companies Act. One of them, “relief from oppressive or prejudicial conduct” is particularly versatile, with courts empowered to order a wide range of remedial action […]
Options to Renew Leases – Risks for Landlords and Tenants 3 September 2020 - Leases often give tenants an option to extend or renew at the end of the current term, and tenants who lose sight of the value and importance of such an option are flirting with disaster. Tenants In a nutshell, when the time comes to exercise your option do comply fully with the clause’s requirements. Make […]
Business Rescue: Are Your Suretyships Enforceable? A R5.5m Lesson for Directors and Creditors 4 June 2019 - When a company goes into business rescue, creditors are often in for a beating. So as a creditor, if you had the foresight to cover your position upfront with personal suretyships from individuals with assets (normally the directors of the debtor company), you will no doubt be keen to recoup your losses by calling in […]
Beware the Building Deadlines When Buying-to-Build 11 January 2019 - The case of Walker and Another v Cilantro Residential Estate Homeowners Association (A3067/16) [2016] ZAGPJHC 299 is yet another warning from our courts to take seriously the building deadlines commonly imposed on buyers of plots in residential estates. Failure to comply with them could expose you to heavy fines, recurring penalties and even the risk of […]
Trustees: Your Risk of Personal Liability in Property Sales 1 February 2018 - Firstly, a warning to anyone selling or buying property to/from a trust – have your lawyer check upfront that you are adequately protected by the terms of the sale agreement. The problem is that contracting with trusts has its own specific set of rules and, as a recent High Court case of Goldex 16 (Pty) Ltd […]
The R1m Buffalo That Died: A Lesson in Passing of Risk 5 September 2017 - We buy and sell things every day, and no doubt most of us assume that it is only when we become the owner that we take the risk of our purchase being damaged or destroyed. Not always – in our law, passing of ownership and passing of risk are two different concepts, and although in […]
When Can You Use a Liquidation Application to Collect Debt? 2 February 2017 - When you are struggling to recover your money from a recalcitrant debtor company, applying for its liquidation can be a very powerful collection tool. Suddenly the directors are faced with the imminent prospect of completely losing control of their company, its business and its assets to a liquidator. If the directors are just fighting a […]
Property Agreements – an alteration which would sink your sale! 6 June 2016 - Although in our law most verbal contracts are binding, property sale agreements are an exception. They must be in writing and signed by the parties to be valid, the reason being that it greatly reduces the risk of confusion or dispute as to what the buyer and seller have actually agreed. In practice of course, […]
Pyramid Schemes: Easy to fall for, and even early birds lose the worm 26 April 2016 - Pyramid schemes are in the news again. They are easy to fall for, with not only desperate pensioners and low-wage earners but also Captains of Industry and many otherwise-savvy investors regularly tricked into “investing” in them. The reason of course is that the con artists behind these schemes are adept at hiding their true nature, […]