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The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application for leave to appeal in a high-profile fraud case, making it possible for the Stellenbosch University Law Clinic to launch a class action trial. A Cape Times report says the Law Clinic will be going head-to-head against local loan-application operation, Lifestyle Direct Group International. In 2021, the Western Cape High Court granted the clinic's application in which it and eight clients sought permission to institute a class action on behalf of thousands of allegedly defrauded consumers from around the country.
The case relates to the alleged defrauding of consumers by the Lifestyle Direct Group International from 2015 to 2019. The Law Clinic applied for the certification of a class action against the websites and their owners who allegedly duped consumers into believing they were applying for a loan when in fact they were locked into a subscription for ‘legal services’. The High Court certified the class action – only the 10th class action in the country to be successfully certified – in 2021. Following the successful certification, those responsible for the alleged fraudulent scheme lodged three unsuccessful attempts at appealing the certification order. A final attempt at such an appeal was submitted to the Constitutional Court at the end of 2022. Senior supervising attorney at the Law Clinic and lecturer at Stellenbosch University, Dr Stephan van der Merwe, said: ‘We are delighted that the final attempt at frustrating the institution of the class action on behalf of thousands of deceived consumers has failed and that we may now launch the class action trial proceedings.’