Emmerton v Soden as Clerk of the Supreme Court of New South Wales

This matter concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia by Mr R.A. Emmerton against the Clerk of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Mr Emmerton sought to appeal a decision concerning the entry of default judgment in a prior proceeding.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether Mr Emmerton was entitled to have default judgment entered for a specific sum of $7 million, as opposed to judgment for an amount to be assessed. This required the Court to consider whether the form of judgment Mr Emmerton had sought to have entered was appropriate under the relevant Supreme Court Act and rules, particularly in circumstances where the claim involved unliquidated damages.

The High Court indicated that for special leave to be granted, Mr Emmerton would need to persuade the Court that the lower courts had erred in concluding that judgment should be entered for an amount to be assessed, rather than a specific sum. The Court noted that the ordinary form of judgment for unliquidated damages involves an assessment, and that Mr Emmerton had to demonstrate that the specific form of judgment he filed was appropriate for entry by the court officer under the governing legislation and rules. The Court also referred to the need to comply with the prescribed forms of judgment, such as Form 50 in the rules, for claims of unliquidated damages.