Court rules in favour of RAF to stop using attorneys for litigation

The Pretoria high court on Friday dismissed an urgent application by attorneys to continue as lawyers for the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

Through litigation of road accident fund claims, 103 law firms have made a fortune as members of the “panel attorneys” since 2014. However, November 29 2019 was set as an expiry date for their contract to represent RAF.

“The high courts have, at various stages and in numerous judgments, expressed dissatisfaction and concern about how the litigation model of the RAF, which particularly  in this division clogs the civil trial roll, has been handled over the years,” said the court.

The applicants argued there would be “chaos” if the RAF is left unrepresented on June 1 2020 with more than 6,000 files requiring attention.

“The fear appears to be more illusory than real,” the court said.

On average, the value of the claims settled by the RAF per month amounts to approximately R4.1bn. The fixed operational expenses for the fund are approximately R800m a month. The fund receives approximately R3.5bn a month from the fuel levy.

Its current unpaid claims amount to R19bn.

The new operational model is meant to reduce legal costs and revise the structure and business process of claims, among other things.

“The RAF’s new model consists of the intention to settle as many as possible meritorious claims within 120 days. The aim is to achieve a 98% settlement rate. The immediate aim is to target those claims already on the civil rolls from 1 June 2020 onwards,” the RAF submitted.

Not all matters can or will be settled out of court. On matters that are liable for judicial trial, the fund will delegate as per necessity.

“Each passing day that the present litigation model continues to exist, the deeper the RAF’s financial outlook sinks.  The deeper the RAF sinks, the less the position to satisfy claims, both timeously or at all. This impacts on the public purse and on the pockets of fuel-using public,” said the fund.