'I face a life of pain': CT man wins R11m damages claim after petrol station brawl

Andrew Merryweather will never be able to walk again, but he was given reason to smile after the high court awarded him R11m in damages after a petrol station brawl.

Merryweather, who was 24 years old at the time, and his brother were involved in a fight with a group of school boys at a Cape Town petrol station in September 2006. He was left paralysed and wheelchair bound.

The boys, who were students at Reddam House, a private school in Cape Town, were charged with attempted murder but were later acquitted.

In 2013, Merryweather won R11.4m in damages in a civil action case in the high court in Cape Town against one of the boys, Oliver Scholtz, who is now 32. Scholtz spear-tackled him against a stationary vehicle.

But the victory was short-lived as the matter was taken on appeal in 2016.

Last month, judge Yasmin Meer ruled in Merryweather's favour.

“[Merryweather’s] claim against [Scholtz] succeeds on the merits,” Meer ruled.

Merryweather said he was relieved. Attempts to get comment from Scholtz's lawyers this week were unsuccessful.

“I received a phone call from my advocate John Whitehead to tell me judgment was handed down and we were successful. It was very emotional and still feels surreal because this has been such a long journey,” Merryweather said on Tuesday.

“I am so eternally grateful to John, who believed in this case from the beginning. He has fought hard and put in hundreds of hours over more than a decade to get us to this day.

“When Scholtz wakes up tomorrow, his life with go on as normal. Scholtz can walk hand-in-hand with his partner along the beach, hike up Table Mountain and go on spontaneous weekends away. His possibilities to enjoy life are endless.

“Tomorrow when I wake up, I will still be paralysed and facing a lifetime of physical nerve pain, hospital visits and [be] confined to my wheelchair prison, which is a constant reminder of everything I have lost and all the activities I can no longer do.”

He said he was relieved that the protracted litigation was over.

“However, I am relieved that this legal marathon which has been such a heavy weight on my shoulders for an eternity is now over. I will be able to close this chapter of my life and move forward, which in itself feels like I have been given a new lease on life,” said Merryweather.

“The support I received from my family, friends, Christo Malan from Autus Private Clients, and the greater Cape Town community has been what has got me through this arduous journey. The words ‘thank you’ don’t adequately convey my gratitude.”

According to the judgment, Scholtz said he pushed Merryweather in self-defence.

“Andrew claims that Oliver intentionally spear-tackled him by picking him up and throwing him against the motor vehicle. This judgment seeks to determine which of these two versions is more probable. In essence, it is the movement which preceded Andrew’s fall and Oliver’s role in it which is in issue,” the judgment reads.

Scholtz, who was 18 at the time of incident, is now a sports science graduate from the University of Stellenbosch. He told the court that he had gone out with friends to celebrate another friend’s birthday on the day preceding the incident.

“Oliver consumed beer at the restaurant but could not recall what he had to drink at the club. There was very little drinking at Sobar, he said because they were in the midst of exams and also because he was supporting a girl who had broken up with her boyfriend.  They arrived at Sobar at about 11pm,” the judgment reads.

Scholtz said an arrangement had been made for a friend’s mother to fetch them at the petrol station. He claimed that he was “neither inebriated nor tipsy”.

“He recalls hearing the following words directed at him from someone he did not know: ‘Watch out for my car it’s a very expensive f**king car. I own a production company and have connections who will come fuck you up’," the judgment reads.

Scholtz said he realised that the words were uttered by Merryweather. He said a heated exchange ensued.

He said he recalled one of his friends retorting “I am sleeping with a woman who owns Claremont” in response to Merryweather's comment about owning a production company.

Meer found Scholtz’s defence confusing.

“Oliver’s confusing self-defence version does not have the ring of truth and thus impugns his credibility. Moreover, in the telling of his version he did not establish that the swivel push, as a means of defence, with sufficient force to generate the catastrophic compressive flexion injury, was commensurate with the danger of a push/smack. He also failed to adequately explain why he did not simply avert the attack by running to and taking refuge in the awaiting car,” Meer ruled.

Kirstie Haslam, partner at DSC Attorneys, said Merryweather’s legal fight is not over yet.

“We have been acting for Andrew in respect of the devastating injuries he sustained as a result of this assault which took place well over a decade ago, so we are very pleased with this eventual fair and just outcome,” said Haslam.

“Andrew’s quest for justice is not quite over. There is still another chapter to be completed: the quantum of damages he is entitled to remains to be argued and this will be taken up by his lawyers in a further hearing.”

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