Douglas Shaw faces suspension as legal practice council acts amid stalled R60bn class action
Douglas Shaw, who previously represented homeowners in the R60 billion class action case against major banks, will this week face an application by the LPC to be suspended as an attorney.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
The R60 billion class action against four major banks is stalled, prompting the Legal Practice Council (LPC) to seek Douglas Shaw's suspension in court this week.
Shaw has been representing homeowners in the action against the banks.
The LPC - the watchdog organisation over the South African legal profession - is turning to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, for an urgent order after it had emerged that Shaw allegedly appeared for the homeowners earlier this year in the Johannesburg High Court without a Fidelity Fund Certificate.
The certificate, which is issued by the LPC, is a vital document for an attorney and certain advocates to have.
If they appear in court on behalf of clients without it, it could be regarded as a criminal offence.
As Judge Leonie Windell was preparing to hear the long-awaited application, one of the banks dropped a proverbial bombshell that Shaw did not have a Fidelity Fund Certificate.
This, the court was told, was divulged by a whistleblower.
Shaw explained that he had the certificate last year, but it was not renewed for this year. He explained that due to work pressure and being "overwhelmed", he simply did not get around to renewing it.
He, however, assured the court that he is on the brink of receiving it and that only a few documents required by the LPC were still outstanding.
But Judge Windell was adamant that without it, he would be off this case. She also requested the LPC to investigate the matter and to report back to court.
The class action hearing was set down in February after nearly six years of preparation for the case, in which the applicants claim that they had previously lost their homes at the hands of the banks in cases where this drastic step was not necessary.
Others complained that they were severely shortchanged as their homes were sold for far below their market price to recover outstanding debt.
The banks are contesting the application and in lengthy court papers stated that they do everything possible to protect default homeowners.