Chetty v Pillay: Prescription of Judgment Debts and Estates in South African Law
Learn how the High Court clarified prescription of judgment debts against estates in Chetty v Pillay. Guidance on community of property, executor duties, and creditor rights.
Written by Roy Bregman, admitted attorney with over 51 years’ experience in South African litigation and estate law.
In South Africa, there are legal time limits, called “prescription periods,” for how long someone has to collect a debt.
The law that sets these time limits is the Prescription Act. It states that if a creditor (the person who is owed money) doesn’t take action to collect the debt within a certain period, their right to claim the money expires.
For most ordinary debts (like for personal loans or unpaid bills), this time limit is three years.
A “judgment debt” is different from a regular debt. It’s a debt that a court has officially ordered someone to pay. Once a judge makes this ruling, the debt becomes an official, legal obligation, and lasts for 30 years.
The estate of the late Pillay owed Chetty R63,351.13 arising from three judgments Chetty obtained against Pillay in 2007 and 2008, while he was alive. He filed a claim against the estate, and the executrix rejected the claim on the basis that it had prescribed, arguing that summons should have been issued by November 2013.
Chetty sued in the Magistrates’ Court and the magistrate agreed that the claim had prescribed. Chetty appealed and the High Court set aside the judgment of the lower court and confirmed that the 30-year time limit for a judgment debt does not change when the debtor dies. Judgment debts carry a 30-year prescription period. The three default judgments fell squarely within this rule.