'Absurd' case thrown out

15 June 2011 - 00:17 By Estelle Ellis
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Gavel. File photo.
Gavel. File photo.
Image: Times Media Group

After collecting security camera photographs, having bitter arguments and a two-year court case, Cape Town man Simon Childs has been told that his case "borders on absurdity".

Childs took his neighbour to court for "illegally parking" in front of the neighbour's own garage.

The security camera pictures and a comprehensive list of dates detailing the parking "infractions" failed to convince Acting Judge Max Boqwana that he should act against Rhodes University professor Tony Booth.

"The question remains, would not an issue of this nature [best] be resolved by good neighbourliness or ... adopting a mature, adult approach towards one another?" Boqwana said.

"I believe there is plenty of room for that."

Boqwana's judgment, however, did not bring an end to the two-year dispute between Childs and Booth.

Childs has now asked that a full bench of the Grahamstown High Court take another look at the case.

He complained to the court that the parking bay had been constructed without municipal permission and restricted his access to his property.

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