St James High takes school bus row to court

ST James High School has taken Puzey and Payne (Pvt) Ltd to court for allegedly breaching the terms of a bus deal. The two parties entered into an agreement of sale for a 33-seater bus valued at $56,400 that the school wanted. St James High School claimed that the bus was to be delivered after the payment of $35,000 as deposit, which was allegedly done in August, 2014, but the bus was not delivered.

The school has since filed summons at the Bulawayo High Court citing Puzey and Payne as the defendant. In its application, through its lawyers Calderwood, Bryce Hendrie and Partners, the school is seeking an order compelling Puzey and Payne to deliver the Yutong bus.

In the event that the company fails to do so within four days of the judgment, the school wants Puzey and Payne to be ordered to pay back $48,700 with interest calculated from September 1, 2015 to the date of full payment.

According to court papers, the two parties agreed that Puzey and Payne would deliver the bus to the school within eight to 12 weeks after payment of the initial deposit of $35,000.

"The defendant has breached the agreement of sale in that it has failed to deliver the bus to the plaintiff. In addition to the initial deposit of $35,000, the plaintiff paid to the defendant $13,700 on August 4, 2014, and the balance due on the purchase price is $8,000, which the plaintiff has withheld pending the delivery of the bus," said the school's lawyers.

Puzey and Payne through its lawyers, Sibanda and Partners, said the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter, arguing that both parties consented to the jurisdiction of an arbitrator in line with the agreement.

"It is a settled principle of law that the parties should respect and follow that dispute resolution mechanism which they chose for themselves. In the circumstances the matter ought to be referred for arbitration," said Puzey and Payne lawyers.