Nicholas van Hoogstraten's 16-year-old property claim dismissed

The High Court has rejected businessman Nicholas van Hoogstraten's bid to revive a 16-year-old lawsuit over a Harare property, ruling that the claim was long dormant, overtaken by events, and unenforceable.

Justice Joel Mambara delivered the judgment on Thursday, dismissing Van Hoogstraten's attempt to reinstate a 2009 summons seeking transfer of a house at Stand No. 4 Wroxham Road in The Grange, Harare, which had been purchased at a judicial auction.

The summons had lapsed under Practice Direction 1 of 2022, which strikes off cases dormant for more than two years. Van Hoogstraten, represented by Advocate Thabani Mpofu, asked the court to condone the delay and extend time limits, but Justice Mambara described the 16-year delay as "inordinate and only partially explained."

"The horse has bolted – the ship has sailed – and it would offend the sound administration of justice to pretend otherwise," the judge said.

Van Hoogstraten claimed he purchased the property in 2005 to settle a debt owed by the former owner, Felistas Runyararo James. However, the Sheriff's office later returned his uncashed cheque, and James subsequently settled the debt and transferred the property in 2013 to the Richard Samaita Family Trust, now the registered owner.

Justice Mambara noted that ordering James to sign transfer forms for a house she no longer owns would be "absurd," adding that Van Hoogstraten had never paid for the property and would effectively receive it for free if his claim succeeded.

The court found the application "meritless and vexatious" and ordered Van Hoogstraten to pay James's legal costs on a punitive attorney-client scale, emphasizing the need for finality in long-running disputes.