Adv JohanWessels

Work includes winding-up applications under the Companies Act 61 of 1973 and the Close Corporations Act, sequestration under the Insolvency Act, and challenges arising from business rescue under Chapter 6 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Recurring questions include whether an applicant holds a liquidated claim, whether a secured creditor may seek liquidation, the effect of a rejected business rescue plan and the treatment of impeachable dispositions. He appeared in Imobrite v DTL Boerdery and Rogal Holdings v Victor Turnkey Projects, and served in the Gauteng Division's dedicated Insolvency Court as an acting judge in 2026.

This work draws on his earlier experience in attorneys' practice and in a finance business, first as chief legal adviser and later as chief executive. It includes the enforcement and defence of credit agreements and acknowledgements of debt, disputes over interest and facility fees, suretyship and guarantee claims, and the legal and commercial consequences of financial distress.

Contractual disputes include claims for performance and damages, cancellation for breach, variation orders, dispute-resolution clauses and the interpretation of agreements together with the security documents that support them. Rogal Holdings v Victor Turnkey Projects arose from a cancelled building agreement and considered whether an unliquidated damages claim gave the employer standing as a creditor and affected person.

He appeared with F H Terblanche SC for the trustees in Griessel NO v De Kock, reported at 2019 (5) SA 396 (SCA). The Supreme Court of Appeal considered the protection available to a contingent beneficiary of a discretionary trust and set aside orders directing the appointment of an additional trustee and awarding punitive costs.

He appeared as junior to C Louw SC for the Road Accident Fund in urgent proceedings against the Commissioner for SARS in 2025. The High Court granted interim relief restraining the recoupment of a R5.1 billion settlement sum from RAF levies pending an intergovernmental dispute process. The work engaged the Customs and Excise Act, the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act and the requirements for interim relief against the state.

Property work frequently intersects with commercial and insolvency litigation. It includes disputes concerning the position of a secured bondholder, trust-owned land, leases, sales and the enforcement of rights in immovable property.

He conducts civil litigation principally in the Gauteng Division and, on brief, in other divisions, including the North West Division. His work includes urgent and opposed applications, trials and appellate proceedings, alone and with senior counsel.

He is listed on the AFSA Garden Route provisional panel of arbitrators. Following accredited mediation training and independent assessment in 2026, he was classified as a Qualified Mediator under the Gauteng Judge President's Mandatory Mediation Directive and Protocol and included on the Association of Arbitrators' panels of court-annexed and private mediators.