Ensor & Anor v International Alpaca Management Pty Limited

The applicants, Ensor and another, sought to set aside a default judgment entered against them in favour of the respondent, International Alpaca Management Pty Limited. The dispute arose from a contract for the sale of alpacas. The application to set aside the default judgment was heard by Brennan CJ in chambers.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the applicants had established sufficient grounds to set aside the default judgment. This involved considering whether the applicants had a meritorious defence to the claim and whether they had provided a satisfactory explanation for their failure to file a defence within the prescribed time.

Brennan CJ applied the principles established in *Colonial Bank of Australasia v. Marchant* (1877) 3 VLR (L) 250, which require a party seeking to set aside a default judgment to demonstrate both a defence on the merits and an excuse for the delay. His Honour found that the applicants had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for their non-compliance with the rules of court, noting that the affidavit filed in support of the application was vague and lacked specific details regarding the reasons for the delay. Consequently, the Court was not satisfied that the applicants had met the threshold required to set aside the default judgment.

The application to set aside the default judgment was dismissed.