This is the latest chapter in a three-year battle between informal traders and the city-owned Metropolitan Trading Company, which runs the market.

The flagship city project was built in 2002 at a cost of R140 million to cater for taxis, buses and informal traders. Hawkers were locked out of the mall the next year after refusing to pay rental charges they said were too high.

Traders are now accusing the company of looting their stalls, intimidation, taking bribes and charging traders R30 for receipts.

The city insists traders reneged on a deal made last year in which they would pay their full rental in return for the city writing off R100000 in outstanding rent.

Livingstone Mantanga, a spokesman for the Traders Crisis Committee, which represents 320 businesses, said papers had been served on the company on Friday, and they were expected to be heard in the Johannesburg High Court on tuesday.

He said requests for meetings with the company had been ignored. "The stalls of about 65 traders have been closed without notice, and we are going to court to open these stalls so that people can make a living," he said.

Two cases of assault have been opened after an elderly woman hawker and another trader were allegedly attacked by mall staff.

Company spokesman Virgil James denied the allegations of corruption and bribery, and said every effort had been made to reach agreement with the traders.

He said a meeting was held last year to discuss traders' concerns. At that meeting it was agreed rental charges would be cut 25% and all outstanding rentals would be written off.

"They were given a clean slate in return for paying their rent on time each month," he said.

"We have to pay for water and our rates and taxes. It's also not fair on tenants who do pay."

Mantanga insisted that traders paid their rent, and said he had the receipts to prove it. He said the dispute was really over traders' refusal to sign their leases, because they did not understand the legal terminology.

"They want someone in the company to explain to them what they are signing."