Judge rules the municipality ‘bears the burden of proving the accuracy of its invoices’.
The judge said the CoJ is only entitled to recover amounts that are due for actual consumption ‘and not for estimated or fictitious charges based on data from removed or faulty meters’. Picture: iStock
Should the two women contest the billing, the CoJ must substantiate its claims of accuracy through a proper rectification process, he said. “This complexity goes beyond a mere mathematical adjustment and necessitates a detailed evaluation by the City,” he said. “While this does not permit vague or insubstantial complaints to be classified as disputes, an overly rigid or legalistic approach would not be appropriate,” he said.
They were further seeking an order directing the CoJ to write off any amounts that are demonstrated to have become extinguished through prescription as at the date of the notice of motion application.
Judge Mahon stressed the CoJ is only entitled to recover amounts that are lawfully due for actual consumption “and not for estimated or fictitious charges based on data from removed or faulty meters”. He said the CoJ, as the prescription creditor, bears the onus to institute legal proceedings before the completion of the prescription period and once a debt prescribes, it is extinguished and becomes legally unenforceable.
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