Winemaker Nicolas Krone and his company, Twee Jonge Gezellen, are taking a dispute with the Land Bank to the Constitutional Court to challenge the principle of “paying up before arguing the validity of a debt”.

Winemaker Nicolas Krone and his company, Twee Jonge Gezellen, are taking a dispute with the Land Bank to the Constitutional Court to challenge the principle of “paying up before arguing the validity of a debt”.

Mr Krone is contesting a R37,9m debt with the Land Bank and says he owes only R20m.

He was not available for comment yesterday.

The Land Bank had obtained a provisional order from Judge Siraj Desai in the Cape High Court saying that Mr Krone and his company had to pay the bank R37,9m within two months. The case is to be heard on November 18.

In a Constitutional Court directive, Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo last week ordered that the parties’ arguments should address only whether it is constitutional that a provisional sentence can order a debtor to pay a creditor before the debtor can legally challenge the amount involved.