Undisclosed Principal – Locus Standi of Agent to Sue in His Own Name – Remedies for Breach of Contract. Botha v Giyose t/a Paragon Fisheries [2007] SCA 73 (RSA)

Although this judgment of Combrinck JA was marked “not reportable”, it is nevertheless important for both the law of agency and of civil procedure as well as for the law of contract generally. As will appear below, it cleared up misunderstandings regarding the locus standi of an intermediary (agent) in an undisclosed principal situation, that is, the intermediary's right to sue the third party in his own name on the contract entered into on behalf of an undisclosed principal. The court also corrected a matter that was overlooked by both the magistrate in the court of first instance and the court a quo regarding a plaintiff's choice of common law remedies for breach of contract