The legal ‘Please Call Me technology’ battle still rages on and a legal representative of Nkosana Makate confirmed that he has won a case against Raining Men Trade – a group which previously funded his battle with Vodacom over the Please Call Me technology.
Raining Men Trade wanted to be involved in the review application Makate is launching to have Vodacom’s R47 million offer for the Please Call Me idea set aside. The company argued that it has an interest in Makate’s case because it financed his litigation against Vodacom in the High Court.
Makate contended that Raining Men Trade should instead pay him the R350,000 it allegedly owes him for legal costs before this could even be considered, and said that he also opposes Raining Men Trade joining the legal proceedings at all.
He claims Raining Men Trade did not contribute to costs properly when they were involved, displaying either an inability or a refusal to contribute sufficiently. Makate also noted that the funding agreement between himself and Raining Men Trade was cancelled in 2015.
He said that some of the signatures on the nomination agreement with Raining Men Trade were not in fact his – allegations which the court indeed found to be the case.
Judge Jody Kollapen determined that Raining Men Trade should not be allowed to take part in Makate’s review application against Vodacom.
According to Kollapen, it did not make sense that Raining Men Trade has an interest in the review proceedings between Makate and Vodacom because there are already two cost orders against it for legal expenses it could not pay.
Therefore, if it wishes to be a part of proceedings, it must first pay the R350,000 security before its participation could be considered.
Makate vs Vodacom
Makate’s battle with Vodacom has been going on for years and currently sees the pair in disagreement over how much Makate should be paid for the Please Call Me idea.
Vodacom offered Makate R47 million, but Makate believes this figure is insufficient. He applied to the High Court to force Vodacom to disclose its finances related to the Please Call Me technology.
His application was successful, and Vodacom was told it must provide Makate with all necessary documentation that could help him determine how much he should receive from Vodacom.
In August, Vodacom argued that the nature of the aforementioned judgement was such that an appeal may not be possible.
“[Vodacom] would have appealed this order as being impractical and bad in law, but for the advice furnished that this part of the order may not be appealable because of its interlocutory nature,” said Vodacom’s chief officer for legal, compliance and risk Nkateko Nyoka in an affidavit.
Therefore, it requested that the order be amended.
