Banda v Van der Spuy 2013 4 SA 77 (SCA) : quantifying a claim with the actio quanti minoris

Abstract

The actio quanti minoris is one of the so-called Aedilitian actions developed in Roman law to provide relief for a purchaser who discovered latent defects in a thing sold. The remedy is aimed at reclaiming a fair portion of the purchase price as redress for the fact that the thing sold is defective and consequently worth less than the price actually paid for it. To succeed with a claim based on the actio quanti minoris, a plaintiff must not only show that the thing sold was defective at the date of the sale, but also establish the exact amount by which the purchase price should be reduced. The question is, therefore, how a claim with the actio quanti minoris must be quantified. This was one of the issues which the court had to decide in the case of Banda v Van der Spuy 2013 4 SA 77 (SCA).