Bank of Western Australia v Campbell

Bank of Western Australia sued Campbell for the recovery of outstanding debts. The court granted the bank's motion for summary judgment, and Campbell sought to have the judgment set aside. Campbell's argument was that the court should set aside the judgment because, although the defendants were aware of the hearing date for the motion, they did not attend the hearing, and there was a reasonably arguable defence on the merits. The court considered the circumstances under which the defendants failed to appear and whether there was a valid reason for their absence. It also examined the merits of the defence presented by Campbell. The court concluded that the defendants' failure to attend the hearing was not excusable, and there was no reasonably arguable defence on the merits. Consequently, the application to set aside the judgment was dismissed. The court held that the judgment would stand, and Campbell was liable to pay the outstanding debts to the bank.