Pick n Pay liable: SCA rules against retail giant after Chester Williams’s widow fell in store
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed an attempt by Pick n Pay Retailers (Pty) Ltd to reopen a long-running slip-and-fall case, confirming that the supermarket chain remains liable for injuries suffered by a customer who fell on a slippery substance inside one of its stores.
The ruling supports earlier judgments holding Pick n Pay responsible for injuries sustained by Maria Williams at its N1 City Mall store in Goodwood, Cape Town.
The case dates back to November 13, 2017, when Williams, widow of late rugby star Chester Williams, was shopping with her sister when she slipped and fell in the store. She had briefly left the checkout area to retrieve an item she had forgotten and was walking briskly—but not running—through an aisle when she lost her footing.
After the fall, Williams noticed an oily, orange-coloured substance on the sole of her shoe. She later suffered injuries to her left hip and shoulder joint, requiring medical treatment.
Pick n Pay initially assured Williams that it would cover her medical costs but later failed to do so, prompting her to institute legal proceedings in the Western Cape High Court. She claimed damages for medical expenses, loss of earnings and general damages for pain and suffering.
In September 2023, the High Court ruled in Williams’ favour, finding that Pick n Pay had failed to take reasonable steps to keep its premises safe. The court held the retailer fully liable for any damages Williams could prove and also granted Pick n Pay a right of indemnity against its cleaning contractor, Tradesoon (Pty) Ltd trading as Bluedot.
Pick n Pay sought leave to appeal that decision, arguing that it had acted reasonably by outsourcing cleaning services to an independent contractor and that any negligence lay with the contractor, not the store. However, the high court refused leave to appeal, and a subsequent petition to the SCA was also dismissed.
Undeterred, Pick n Pay launched an application for reconsideration under Section 17(2)(f) of the Superior Courts Act, a provision that allows the SCA to revisit refusals of leave to appeal in rare cases where a grave failure of justice would otherwise result or where the administration of justice may be brought into disrepute.
In a unanimous judgment, three retired judges, Vuminkosi Dlodlo, Xolani Petse and Boissie Mbha, rejected the application. The court emphasised that section 17(2)(f) is not intended to provide litigants with “another bite at the cherry” after repeated failures to secure leave to appeal.
The SCA found that Pick n Pay had not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances or grave injustice that would justify reopening the matter. Instead, the retailer was merely attempting to reargue issues already considered and decided by the High Court and by the SCA itself.
On the merits, the court reaffirmed that shop owners owe a duty of care to customers to ensure that their premises are reasonably safe. While Pick n Pay had engaged Bluedot to clean the store, this did not absolve it of responsibility. The court held that a store owner cannot simply delegate safety-related duties and then adopt a passive stance.
Evidence showed that Pick n Pay did not actively monitor the work of the cleaning contractor, failed to review cleaning logs, and had no staff member present in the aisle at the time of the incident. The court found that these shortcomings meant Pick n Pay had not taken reasonable steps to guard against foreseeable harm, particularly in a busy supermarket where spillages are common.
The judges also rejected Pick n Pay’s reliance on earlier case law protecting principals from liability for the negligence of independent contractors. They stressed that a business may still be liable where the harm arises from its own failure to ensure that adequate safety systems are properly implemented and supervised.
Concluding that no grave failure of justice would result from refusing leave to appeal, the SCA dismissed the reconsideration application with costs.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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