Ho v Loneragan

Ho v Loneragan is an appeal against a decision of the District Court of Western Australia which dismissed an appeal against a judgment of the Magistrates Court. The appellants, Dennis Cheelim Ho and Phillip Kung Jin, sought to appeal against a judgment of Magistrate Boon in the Magistrates Court in which the respondent, Larry Loneragan, was awarded $30,077 in interest for the delay in settlement of the sale of a pharmacy. The appeal was dismissed by Curthoys DCJ on the basis that it was out of time. The appellants appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, contending that the appeal was not out of time because the date of the judgment was when the appellants received the judgment in the post, not the date on which it was given. The Court of Appeal found that the appeal was indeed out of time, as the date of judgment was the date it was given, and that the judgment was effective until set aside. The appeal was dismissed. The Court of Appeal held that although the judgment was not given in open court as required by the Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (WA), s 45, this did not mean that the judgment was void. Instead, the judgment was voidable and had effect unless and until it was set aside. As the appellants had not sought to have the judgment set aside, it remained effective. The Court of Appeal also found that the appellants' argument that the date of the judgment was when it was received by them in the post was not supported by the Act or any other written law. The appeal was dismissed and the decision of the District Court was upheld.