Jalun Pool Supplies Pty Ltd v Onga Pty Ltd No. Scgrg-98-842 Judgment No. S20

In Jalun Pool Supplies Pty Ltd v Onga Pty Ltd, the plaintiff, Jalun Pool Supplies, appealed against an order that struck out its claim due to a delay in filing a document. The defendant, Onga Pty Ltd, argued that the document was not received until after business hours, justifying the striking out of the plaintiff’s claim. The appeal focused on the interpretation of the phrase "close of business" and whether the delay was significant enough to warrant the drastic measure of striking out the claim. The court found that the phrase "close of business" was ambiguous and did not clearly specify a time, making it difficult to determine compliance with the order. Furthermore, the court concluded that the document was received electronically within business hours, even though it was physically reproduced later. The court held that the delay was relatively minor and that striking out the claim would cause significant prejudice to the plaintiff without any benefit to the defendant. Consequently, the court set aside the order striking out the claim and dismissed the defendant's application to set aside the grant of leave to appeal.