Cape Town - The Constitutional Court is expected to make a decision on an application for leave to appeal against a divorce and cost judgment ordering a man to pay, among others, R500 000 to his ex-wife for rental income made from a Mozambique property.
David Riley, who is now divorced from Rochelle Riley, had failed to comply with a divorce order and has subsequently been held in contempt of court for not making the payments as ordered by the court.
In January 2019, Rochelle launched a contempt application in the high court on the basis that she had not received her share of the rental income from the Mozambique property and secondly on the basis that David had not transferred business shares into her name which were part of the divorce order.
However, David had applied for leave to appeal against the whole of the divorce order, and alternatively, an order for the variation of certain paragraphs of the divorce order.
David has now sought an order that he retain sole ownership of the property in Mozambique and that he retain as his sole property all the points in a Dream Vacation Club subscription and be solely liable for all levies and expenses thereof and further that the entire paragraph relating to the transferring of the business shares to Rochelle, be deleted.
According to the divorce order, Rochelle was owed a total half share of rental income which amounted to R489 136.59 at the time of the divorce.
The high court held David in contempt of the divorce order and sentenced him to imprisonment of 60 days, which was suspended in whole in the event that he made payment of Rochelle’s rental income share into her South African bank account within 30 days of the order.
In his application, David had sought that an immovable property – at which Rochelle lives and was granted sole ownership through the divorce court – be sold and all net profit be paid to him, that he gains sole ownership of a rental income property in Mozambique, and to keep all shares in his Mozambique businesses instead of signing over 40% of business shares to Rochelle.
The matter is ongoing.