IS this enforceable in law...

B

Bernie

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I am booking at a camp site and the below is in the booking form. I cant believe one can just sign all their rights away. Is this legal / enforceable. :wtf:


I pledge not to sue the owners, their agents, associates, office members, suppliers and / or employees on
account of any losses, claims, costs, liabilities or damages – and further, I agree not to claim the unenforceability
of this agreement.
I agree the foregoing obligation shall be binding upon me personally as well as upon my heirs, executors,
trustees, administrators and members of my family, and shall be binding upon any minders accompanying me.
 
Yes, it is.

It is to protect the owners/agents etc against stupid people.

You know, the type that goes "Look Ma, no hands!"...
 
Not all contracts are legal & binding. If there is something illegal in a contract or in violation of current laws (ie constitution) then you have a leg to stand on.
 
Bernie said:
I agree, I dont want to either, I think I will scratch it out and see what they say :)
Click to expand...

I do that all the time. I scratch out stuff I don't like. If they don't want me as a customer then they must tell me.
 
Its not legal, if you had to take them to court it would not hold up. The reasoning is that you cant be made to sign your rights away.
Many disclosures for activities are aware that its a deterrent and not something that they would be able to enforce if it really got nasty.
 
Bernie said:
I am booking at a camp site and the below is in the booking form. I cant believe one can just sign all their rights away. Is this legal / enforceable. :wtf:


I pledge not to sue the owners, their agents, associates, office members, suppliers and / or employees on
account of any losses, claims, costs, liabilities or damages – and further, I agree not to claim the unenforceability
of this agreement.
I agree the foregoing obligation shall be binding upon me personally as well as upon my heirs, executors,
trustees, administrators and members of my family, and shall be binding upon any minders accompanying me.
Click to expand...

Where is that camp site you are talking about? Address please or is not real :D
 
Aag that pledge means nothing. If the owner is at fault, you can certainly sue his ass off. Just one example, owner takes shortcuts when installing power points. You get a nasty electric current through your foot while walking on the grass. Sue him for the medical costs because he did not follow the regulations wrt electricity.
Or what if he provides firewood containing logs of an oleander tree? Sue him, hell he may even be charged with manslaughter.
And so on and so on.
 
An indemnity form is an agreement in which you waive your right to legal recourse in the event of harm caused by the wrongdoing of the other party. The enforceability of such an agreement remains a grey area in our law. Even though one cannot contract out of gross negligence, a signed indemnity is, in principle, enforceable and a valid defence. South African courts, however interpret these agreements narrowly and the enforceability thereof will be determined on the facts and circumstances of each case.

An indemnity clause can be crossed out and initialled, thus the rest of the terms are agreed to, but the signatory is protected against not being able to claim for damages. Alternatively, adding the words, "the rights of the signatory are reserved herein" under your signature will have the same effect as the above.

Another fact to remember is that another person cannot sign an indemnity on your behalf. A parent signing an indemnity on behalf of a child/ parent/ friend is invalid and cannot be used as a defence in a claim for damages.

The often menacing Latin maxim: "caveat subscriptor" applies in our law. The maxim can be translated to mean "let the signer beware". A person is prevented from denying responsibility for having signed something without reading the clauses. It is of the utmost importance that a person reads the clauses in an indemnity or contract very carefully and that they are aware of what they are signing at all times.
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source
 
Gielie Geelmielie said:
Aag that pledge means nothing. If the owner is at fault, you can certainly sue his ass off. Just one example, owner takes shortcuts when installing power points. You get a nasty electric current through your foot while walking on the grass. Sue him for the medical costs because he did not follow the regulations wrt electricity.
Or what if he provides firewood containing logs of an oleander tree? Sue him, hell he may even be charged with manslaughter.
And so on and so on.
Click to expand...

This is inline with my thinking but the law seldom follows common sense :)
 
Bernie said:
I am booking at a camp site and the below is in the booking form. I cant believe one can just sign all their rights away. Is this legal / enforceable. :wtf:


I pledge not to sue the owners, their agents, associates, office members, suppliers and / or employees on
account of any losses, claims, costs, liabilities or damages – and further, I agree not to claim the unenforceability
of this agreement.
I agree the foregoing obligation shall be binding upon me personally as well as upon my heirs, executors,
trustees, administrators and members of my family, and shall be binding upon any minders accompanying me.
Click to expand...


That violates so many clauses of the consumer protection act, it's hilarious. It'll take a bad lawyer less than five minutes to have that thrown out of court. A good lawyer will have the idiots that wrote it fined by the national consumer commission, even if they didn't stay at that camp site.

For those wondering who the arseholes that wrote this are; wonder no more: I present Bluemoon Safaris.
 
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Drunkard #1 said:
That violates so many clauses of the consumer protection act, it's hilarious. It'll take a bad lawyer less than five minutes to have that thrown out of court. A good lawyer will have the idiots that wrote it fined by the national consumer commission, even if they didn't stay at that camp site.

For those wondering who the arseholes that wrote this are; wonder no more: I present Bluemoon Safaris.
Click to expand...

It isn't Bluemoon Safaris but Bushwillow Tented Camp (http://www.bushwillowtentedcamp.co.za/). Seems one of them copied it, or its being used in this industry by everyone. I wonder if a lawyer consulted on this contract clause :p
 
Its enforceable to a degree...

If the injury/loss/etc results from gross negligence on the property owners(operators) behalf, then its meaningless...
 
Hey Bernie - how goes the Vale?

My leb chinas out at Hoedspruit have similar wording in their stuff - their reasoning is not local people (cos we tough) but the nut jobs from America that sue at the drop of a hat. I'd scratch it out and notice how their receptionist fails to see that. :)
 
GreGorGy said:
Hey Bernie - how goes the Vale?

My leb chinas out at Hoedspruit have similar wording in their stuff - their reasoning is not local people (cos we tough) but the nut jobs from America that sue at the drop of a hat. I'd scratch it out and notice how their receptionist fails to see that. :)
Click to expand...

It goes well thanks :)

I will probably be doing exactly this in addition to a low res scan :D - I am sure it will get through.
 
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