A disbarred attorney, Thivenda Moodley appeared before the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg seeking to overturn his disbarment and return to legal practice. File Photo
Image: File Photo
A disbarred attorney, Thivenda Moodley appeared before the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg seeking to overturn his disbarment and return to legal practice.
This comes after a significant scandal involving the misappropriation of over R2 million during his career, culminating in a troubled past that challenges his credibility as a practitioner.
Moodley was admitted as an attorney in December 2002.
His troubles began in March 2006, during a house transfer when R657,000 was deposited into his trust account
When the seller, Gengan Naidoo inquired about the money, Moodley was unable to pay him.
Naidoo eventually reported him to the KZN Legal Practice Council (LPC).
Naidoo's report triggered an investigation that eventually found a discrepancy of over R2 million misappropriated by Moodley.
While he managed to repay R460,000, the LPC's fidelity fund settled the remaining balance of over R1.6 million. Moodley was required to repay this amount but contributed only a meagre R10,500.
In his readmission application, he said he tried to settle the misappropriated funds and took out loans at high interest rates to settle his debt and when he was removed from the roll, he had an outstanding debt of over half a million R550 000.
His application was opposed by the LPC, and it was said that readmission requires exceptional circumstances, which Moodley has not demonstrated.
It was submitted that he has not accurately identified the defect of character that led to his actions, and his non-commitment to repay the misappropriated funds casts doubts over the sincereness of his reformation.
The LPC's fidelity fund opposed his application arguing that Moodley was intermittently employed and yet he failed to repay the monthly R2,000 installments to settle his debt.
Additionally, in July 2022, he indicated that he intended to bring a readmission application and his failure to make regular payments was due to him being unemployed. For the fund, this appeared that Moodley would repay the debt for readmission and not as an act of remorse.
Acting Judge Nicholson noted that Moodley's explanation regarding the misappropriated funds is vague and therefore lacks full disclosure.
Moreover, his version suggests that he dipped into the trust account to service a personal loan, and this demonstrates that the misuse of his trust account was entrenched in his practice, which makes his transgression even more inexcusable.
The judge also added that from the evidence, it appears Moodley applicant used the trust monies to prop up his lifestyle.
"The decision to share holiday activities publicly, along with not fulfilling the repayment agreement with the second respondent (LPC fidelity fund), suggests that the applicant (Moodley) is insistent on presenting an image of success, and will take every opportunity to do so, no matter how misguided," said the judge.
The application was dismissed with costs.
IOL