| (1) | Should any party that is, under these rules, entitled to deliver an answering affidavit, response or plea, fail to do so within the time limits prescribed by these rules, any other party may serve a notice of bar on the defaulting party calling upon him or her to deliver the answering affidavit, response or plea within five days. |
| (2) | Should any party deliver— |
| (a) | a notice of appearance out of time; or |
| (b) | an answering affidavit, response or plea after having been placed under bar and after the five days referred to in subrule (1) have expired, |
any other party may forthwith apply to Court to set aside that notice of appearance, answering affidavit, response or plea, and if the Court makes such an order, the defaulting party will no longer be a participating party.
| (a) | deliver any answering affidavit, response or plea while under bar; |
| (b) | deliver any other document out of time; |
| (c) | deliver any document which does not comply with these rules or with any order or direction of the Court; or |
| (d) | perform any act in contravention of these rules or of an order or direction of the Court, |
this will be an irregular step.
| (4) | The Court may, upon application and on good cause shown at any stage of the proceedings— |
| (a) | extend or abridge any period of time prescribed by these rules or by any order or direction of the Court; |
| (b) | condone any irregular step or any non-compliance with these rules or with any order or direction of the Court; or |
| (c) | reinstate any appeal which has lapsed in terms in rule 70(7) or (8), |
upon terms which it considers just.
| (5) | In the event of an irregular step, or in the event of any party failing to comply timeously or at all with any provision of these rules or with any order or direction of the Court, any other party may, within a reasonable time of becoming aware of such irregular step or such failure, give written notice to the defaulting party— |
| (a) | to rectify (if rectification is possible) or withdraw the irregular step; or |
| (b) | to comply with the applicable provision of these rules or with the order or direction of the Court (as the case may be), |
within five days, failing which the Court may upon application—
| (i) | set aside the irregular step; |
| (ii) | condone the irregular step; |
| (iii) | strike out the non-complying portion of any document; |
| (iv) | order the defaulting party to comply with the applicable provision of these rules or with the order or direction of the Court (as the case may be) within a stated period; |
| (v) | strike out the claim, defence or response of the defaulting party, whereupon the defaulting party will no longer be entitled to exercise the rights set out in rule 26(2); or |
| (vi) | order that any appeal lodged by the defaulting party shall lapse; and |
| (vii) | make any order (including an order as to costs) which it considers just. |
| (6) | The parties may, by written agreement, extend, or abridge any time period prescribed in these rules, subject to any contrary order or direction given by the Court before or after that agreement. |
| (7) | If a party fails to comply with any of these rules or an order or direction of the Court, the Court may, of its own accord and after granting that party an opportunity to be heard, make any of the orders set out in subrule (5). |
| (8) | No party may refuse to accept service of any process or delivery of any document which does not comply with these rules or which is out of time. Such acceptance will not prejudice any right to relief which that party may have in terms of these rules. |
