Legal Skills Legal Opinion 2022

Claire has been a Capetonian all her life, while Phil has spent most of his life in Durban
with occasional trips to Cape Town. In Durban, Phil was well known as a “man who
belonged to the streets” or a player. On one of his trips to Cape Town in 2018, Phil met
Claire on Tinder and there began their whirlwind romance. Even though they came from
different professional backgrounds, Claire was a marketing executive and Phil a
freelance sports journalist, they bonded over their shared passion for motorsports. A
year later, Claire and Phil were making wedding plans. They both wanted a destination
wedding with a few friends. In 2019, Claire, Phil and a few of their close friends jetted off
to Monaco for their destination wedding celebration. Their wedding celebration
coincided with the Monaco Grand Prix, a bonus for Phil. He wrote a stellar piece about
how Lewis Hamilton nursed his car home to a narrow win fending off Max Verstappen’s
attacks until the chequered flag. Before leaving for Monaco, Claire and Phil got married
out of property.

On their return from Monaco, Claire and Phil moved into Claire’s flat in Milnerton. In
2020,
Claire and Phil became parents. They welcomed triplets into their lives: Huey, Dewey
and Louie. Since they got married, Claire has been moving up the ranks at work. She
has now transitioned into a senior marketing executive role at the Cape Investments
Company (Pty) Ltd.

Meanwhile, since the Monaco Grand Prix article, Phil has struggled to find steady work.
He would travel to different countries for work, but these short trips did not yield positive
results. As a result, Claire is the family's breadwinner and often away from home, while
Phil is the primary caregiver to the triplets with some help from Claire’s sister Katrina.

Claire’s work colleagues and friends describe her as a workaholic and known for her
short temper. In one of her fits of anger over a minor issue, Claire posted online that one
of her colleagues, Thandi, was “two slices short of a sandwich”. After the defamation
suit, Claire’s boss at Cape Investments warned her that if she had one more incident
such as this, she would receive a significant demotion, resulting in a significantly smaller
monthly salary and fewer benefits. Claire was also known for her visits to the horse
races, where she would bet up to R20,000 in a day. As a result, Claire was deep in debt
but somehow still managed to pay it off and keep the family going.

For the duration of their marriage, Claire and Phil have fought constantly. Most of the
fights were centred on Claire’s distrust of Phil. On their third wedding anniversary
evening, while sitting at the Lawns, a Michelin star restaurant, Claire brings up Phil’s
‘player’ reputation as a joke. However, this joke ends in a fight, and Phil confesses that
he has had once-off affairs while on his trips for work in Singapore, Paris, London, Milan
and
Tokyo. Phil also admits to having an on-again-off-again relationship with Claire’s sister,
Katrina, for the last year. Katrina would help Phil look after the triplets while Claire was
at work. Phil tells Claire that her gambling and rude demeanour led him down a path of
infidelity.

Claire tells Phil she wants a divorce because, after his confession, there is no way their
relationship can be fixed. Phil agrees. However, he immediately tells Claire that he
would like the following:

• sole custody of the triplets since he has been their primary caregiver;
• the estate to be split in half once and for all;
• monthly allowance from her to support himself..

Claire refuses. She tells Phil she is keeping everything she has worked hard for and he
should go find a real job. She intends to immediately emigrate with the triplets to Paris,
France, to start a new life.
GROUPS APPEARING FOR THE PLAINTIFF (CLAIRE)

You are an attorney at Thurman and Associates, Claire approaches you about her
situation. Draft a legal opinion regarding the following issues:

1) Which court will have jurisdiction to hear the divorce proceedings?

2) Who should have custody of the children?
3) What are the prospects of success of Phil’s claim for 50% of the estate?
4) What are the prospects of success of Phil’s claim maintenance?

Your legal opinion must set out relevant legislation and case law.

GROUPS APPEARING FOR THE DEFENDANT (PHIL)

You are an attorney at Jay and Gloria Associates. Phil approaches you about his
situation.
Draft a legal opinion setting out his prospects of success in opposing the action.

Your legal opinion must set out relevant legislation and case law.

Submission Date:

The Legal Opinion is to be submitted electronically via http://learn.mandela.ac.za

by only one group member no later than 17:00hrs on 30 September 2022.

Assignment Rules:

The assignment must comply with the following requirements:

1 The assignment must be between 6 – 8 pages. The pages do not include the
cover page, plagiarism declaration, table of statutes, table of cases and
bibliography.
2 The assignment must adhere strictly to the Obiter Stylistic Guidelines. Students
are reminded that plagiarism is an offence and that disciplinary action may be
taken. Students are required to familiarise themselves with the NMU Student
Disciplinary Code.
3 You are required to submit your assignment through Turnitin.
4 You are required to submit your assignment in PDF format.
5 The assignment must consist of the following:
• Cover page with students’ details
• Plagiarism Declaration
• Table of Contents
• Facts
• Issues (questions of law)
• Rule (applicable law)
• Application of the Law
• Conclusion
• Table of Statutes
• Table of Cases
• Bibliography
6 Each assignment must clearly indicate the group members.
7 Students are encouraged to use quotations sparingly.
8 The Legal Opinion will be assessed in accordance to the marking rubric available
on Moodle.
9 Late Assignments will be penalised 5% for each late day.