Business Hijacking

[desA]

The game is on... Turning up the heat a few levels. Interesting to see what has begun coming out of the woodwork...

[desA]

Turning the heat up still further...

Reminds me of the kid, who is caught with his hand in the cookie jar:

1. Stealing cookies? Who me? Never - do you really think I'm like that? Don't you trust me?
2. Mom shows him his hand still in the jar.
3. Kid pushes hand in still further.
4. Whose cookies are these anyway? Dad pays for everything in this house & I'm his son. So, they are actually my cookies. I'll fight anyone who says differently.
5. Dad comes home & shows him the error of his ways.

[desA]

Odd mentality, these hijacker-types seem to have.

My Advocate made what was, by all accounts, a perfectly reasonable offer to their legal team, to settle fairly.

Apparently, no takers. The matter will now escalate in leaps & bounds. The expected final settlement, at the end of the proverbial day, could be as much as 10x what the 'reasonable walk-away settlement' would have been. The criminality portion amounts to two frauds totaling in the region of R15 million. Daft stuff.

The knock-on effect into the hijacker's own operation would be sufficient to close them down, in all likelihood.

Predictably greedy to the bitter end... Shame.

[Justloadit]

They been doing it and getting away with it for so long, that they believe they are untouchable.

[Dave A]

Daft stuff.

Litigation that actually goes to court often does have some element of madness involved.

Just remember that sometimes it shows in the results, too.

[desA]

Justloadit's wise comment:
They been doing it and getting away with it for so long, that they believe they are untouchable.

You are totally correct. A search over this particular hijacker's history, shows this to be true.

Latch onto a good technology, where the person involved appears to be vulnerable, or without loads of money to mount a strong defense. Take action to sideline said person, then use attacking attorneys to create the space required while they asset-strip. All the while, the attorney applies pressure to see off the victim.

Anecdotal evidence appears to point to one particular victim who died of a heart attack. Very sad.

[desA]

Dave A wisely stated:
Litigation that actually goes to court often does have some element of madness involved.

Just remember that sometimes it shows in the results, too.

Very true.

My rebuttal Affidavit shows that some 95% of the hijacker's claims are mendacious in nature. Absolutely astounding that they would waste the Court's time.

The impression I've ended up with is that of hijacker's using bluster & bully-boy tactics, wherever they can find them. Some attorneys have doubtful ethics & are happy to take client instructions in any way, shape, or form - no matter the ethics, let alone right-&-wrong. The Courts seem to just be an extension of their mafia-style tactics. They'll probably win most of these cases, based on no defense, due to lack of resources on the part of the victim.

Problem comes when you come up against a victim who just won't be bullied.

[wynn]

Be prepared for the long uphill haul, because they have not even started delaying tactics yet, your attorney will make a booking about a year or more in advance so that you are the first item on the roll, then when you are ready to go to court one of them will suddenly fall ill so a postponement will be granted which means another year or more will pass.
Then when your are ready to go to court again one of them will be overseas and unable to attend, so another postponement, so on and so on.

Happened to me until we got the same Judge twice who said that if they all were not in court at the next date they would forfeit the case, and that is exactly what happened, I won by default and costs were awarded to me, took five years though.

[Justloadit]

They know that the victims usually retreat, and allow them to enjoy the spoils of the attack, hence the mendacious statements in court papers. Since the case never gets to a magistrate/judge, they can fabricate any old story they wish.

The problem arises when someone can defend. They attempt the same strategy, and even going to great lengths to implicate themselves along with implicating you or your close relatives in some manner. Sort of a king against a king for an example on a chess board, sort of I am going to jail, but so are you type of scenario. They are gamblers, and in most cases the victim uses common sense and retracts the defense, and they walk away the victor. So be ready to get all sorts of attacks and accusations, which have nothing to do with the case in hand. These can be reporting you to SARS for supposedly something you have done, which immediately gets SARS to investigate you for the lats 5 or 6 years, or in one case I know they had them report to the Fraud Squad (there is a government department for this), which of course cause another investigation into your affairs.

[desA]

All very valid points. Very sad when a nation tolerates this level of white-collar criminality.

A practical reality in SA, at present, is that both the Civil & Criminal systems have decayed into an almost irreparable condition. Justice appears to be a rarity. This counts very much in any would-be hijacker's favour.

The very sad part is that none of this daft stuff contributes to the SA economy - it only drains it. To say that I would never, ever again consider going into business in SA, would be an understatement. An incredible waste of effort & time, all round. The waste of brain-power & effort is something I'd not want to repeat. A learning curve, indeed.

[flaker]

When everything is done & dusted, i wish you would write in with more specifics on nature of business,affidavits & replying affidavits & how company was asset stripped. It would make for interesting reading.

My sense is that it will never end up in court. There would be some sort of settlement when the other side comes to realise that you've clearly no intention of surrendering

[desA]

Absolutely.

When the matter has moved to completion, I'll write up a full Case Study (names redacted), outlining the full details. I know that this will be extremely useful to readers.

One simple tip, without divulging too much, at this point : Carry a hidden slimline dictaphone, with powerful microphone, to ALL business meetings!!!

[desA]

With this matter now having moved into an interesting phase, I am preparing a write-up of the matter (saga), for eventual posting on this thread. Names will be redacted.

For me, personally, the total lack of timeous dispensing of criminal, or civil justice in SA, is astounding. The way the attorneys game the system is amazing. It has very little to do with being officers of the court, but more to do with lawyering & gamesmanship.

It is so atrocious that I would suggest that folks planning to go into business, take a long hard look at any potential partners. It would be far preferable to go it alone, or act as an external consultant, than to take a minority share in a business in SA.

Another key is to have control of the finances. The one who controls the money can literally get away with anything & to boot, he will be believed by the hijack-specialist fleecer. Money talks & dispenses justice in SA. Some fleecers have neither morals, nor scruples. Very sad.

[Terry Hopper]

The Better Business is warning that companies across New Hampshire should be on the lookout for a scam it calls hijacking.

[pmbguy]

The Better Business is warning that companies across New Hampshire should be on the lookout for a scam it calls hijacking.

??