King v Delta Metallics Pty Ltd

In the case of King v Delta Metallics Pty Ltd, the appellant, King, appealed against two decisions made by the primary judge in the Federal Court of Australia. The first decision was a refusal to set aside a default judgment entered against King. The second decision was the determination of the amount of an account of profits King had made from four tournaments. The appeal against the account of profits was based on an argument that the determination was procedurally unfair because King, who was unrepresented, was not allowed to raise certain matters at the directions hearing.

The legal issues before the court included whether the primary judge erred in his exercise of discretion in refusing to set aside the default judgment and whether there was a denial of procedural fairness when the account of profits was determined at a directions hearing. Regarding the refusal to set aside the default judgment, the court found that the primary judge was entitled to infer prejudice to the respondent based on the settlements reached with other respondents and that there was no error in the exercise of discretion. Concerning the procedural fairness issue, the court held that there was no procedural unfairness because King had no arguable defence to the account of profits judgment and no relevant matter he intended to raise was precluded at the directions hearing.

The court concluded that there was no error in the primary judge's refusal to set aside the default judgment, as the primary judge considered all relevant factors and acted within his discretion. The court also dismissed the appeal against the determination of the account of profits, finding that there was no practical injustice caused by the procedural fairness issue, and thus, no relief was warranted. The appeal was dismissed, and King was ordered to pay the respondent's costs for the application for leave to appeal and the appeal itself.